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Wayne State University Athletics

Shea Tripp 2024 vs. Northern Michigan
Zack Belsky/WSU Athletics
Shea Tripp paced all scorers with 20 points to go with eight rebounds, three steals and a block.
48
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 16-12,9-9 GLIAC
51
Winner Northern Mich. NMU 20-8,13-5 GLIAC
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne
16-12,9-9 GLIAC
48
Final
51
Northern Mich. NMU
20-8,13-5 GLIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 5 18 16 9 48
Northern Mich. NMU 9 14 14 14 51

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Cooper Weidenthaler, Sports Communications Specialist

Women's Basketball Season Comes to a Close in GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals

The Warriors were outscored 9-2 by the Wildcats in the game's final four minutes.

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The sixth-seeded Wayne State University women's basketball team (16-12 overall) lost 51-48 at third-seeded Northern Michigan (20-8 overall) on Wednesday night in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals.  The Wildcats came back from down eight in the third quarter and outscored the Warriors 9-2 in the game's final four minutes.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Neither team scored for the initial three-plus minutes before Northern Michigan was on the board first with a layup at 6:53.

The Wildcats would make it 4-0 over three minutes of game time later before McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) put Wayne State on the board thanks to a pair of free throws.

The home team then pushed its lead to as many as six, 8-2, before Gabi Lutchka (Grass Lake, Mich.) cashed a triple to close the gap to three.  The final point of the period came on a Northern Michigan free throw to make it a four-point game, 9-5, after one.

The Warriors made just one of their 14 field goal attempts (7.1 percent) in the quarter, but NMU wasn't much better at 3-for-11 (27.3 percent).

Second Quarter
Wayne State outscored Northern Michigan 18-14 in the second quarter.  Eight of those 18 points came from Shea Tripp (Jackson, Mich. / Michigan Center) while Lutchka added five, Alyssa Leister (St. Louis, Mich. / Alma) nailed a three-pointer and Ferguson converted a jumper.

The stanza saw a total of two lead changes and four ties before it was deadlocked at 23-23 heading into halftime.

Third Quarter
The scoring was even 4-4 through the first minute and a half of the third before Wayne State used a 10-2 run that lasted just over three and a half minutes.

That spurt gave the Warriors their biggest advantage of the night at eight (37-29).  Six of those 10 points came from Tripp while Lutchka and Kate McArthur (Warren, Mich. / Cousino (Central Michigan)) each added a pair.

From there until the end of the quarter, the Wildcats outscored the Warriors with an 8-2 run of their own, and the visitor's lead was two (39-37) through 30 minutes of play.

Fourth Quarter
Lutchka extended Wayne State's lead back to five (42-37) with her fourth three-pointer of the game under a minute into the fourth.  The contest would then see a scoring drought of nearly three minutes before Northern Michigan cut the deficit to two with a trey, its first since the 5:20 mark of the second quarter.

Right before the under-five media timeout, the Wildcats tied the score for a seventh time (42-42), but Tripp answered with a layup to help the Warriors regain the lead.  Tripp then sank a pair at the charity stripe to give herself 20 points and WSU a four-point advantage, 46-42.

With 3:55 to play, Tripp checked out with four fouls and NMU rattled off four straight points for the night's eighth tie, 46-46.

Tripp checked back in with 1:12 left on the clock, but Lutchka traveled before Tripp fouled out on the other end and Northern Michigan went ahead 48-46.  That marked the Wildcats' first lead since 8:57 to go in the third.

On Wayne State's ensuing possession, Ferguson came up empty on a layup and NMU grabbed the rebound before calling a timeout.  The hosts hit two free throws before McArthur pulled WSU back within two (50-48) with a layup and 11 seconds on the clock.

Northern Michigan cashed one of two free throws to make it a three-point game before Lutchka came up short on a three-point attempt at the buzzer to tie it.

TEAM STATS
Neither team shot the ball well as Wayne State finished 17-of-61 (27.9 percent) from the field to Northern Michigan's 20-of-56 (35.7 percent).  The Warriors went 5-of-22 (22.5 percent) from behind the arc while the Wildcats made just three of their 14 looks (21.4 percent) from deep.  NMU won the rebounding battle 44-38, bench scoring 20-3 and points off turnovers 14-4.  Wayne State committed 20 fouls while Northern Michigan was called for only nine.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Tripp (20 points) and Lutchka (16 points) were responsible for 36 of Wayne State's 48 points while Becca Fugate (Holly, Mich.) was held scoreless for just the third time this season.  Tripp and Lutchka both came two rebounds shy of a double-double.  Assist wise, Ferguson and Taylor Thompson (Grand Blanc, Mich.) each dished out two.  Defensively, Tripp notched a block while both her and Lutchka tallied three steals.

LEADING THE WILDCATS
Mackenzie Holzwart scored a team-high 14 points with two dimes and Jacy Weisbrod brought down eight rebounds.  On the other side of the ball, Ana Rhude stuffed five shot attempts and Holzwart racked up four steals.

 
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