DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (10-7 overall, 5-4 GLIAC) captured a 71-67 victory over Saginaw Valley State (9-8 overall, 3-6 GLIAC).  After holding a lead for just eight seconds in the first half, the Warriors led for all but 1:06 in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
The Cardinals got off to a quick start offensively, connecting on their first two shots to take an early 4-0 lead.  Following an Alyssa Leister (St. Louis, Mich. / Alma) block, the Warriors were able to get on the board by way of a Taylor Thompson (Grand Blanc, Mich.) jumper.  SVSU's Saniaa Walker found the bottom of the net on a lay-up to bring their lead back to four (6-2), but buckets from Thompson and Shea Tripp (Jackson, Mich. / Michigan Center) tied the contest at six points apiece.  Walker drained another shot to give Saginaw Valley State the lead again, before Gabi Lutchka (Grass Lake, Mich.) knotted the game at eight points each.  The Cardinals out-scored WSU 16-8 for the remainder of the period, entering the second stanza with a 24-16 advantage.

SECOND QUARTER
Annabel Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) splashed a long-range jumper to start the second quarter scoring, but SVSU quickly responded with a lay-up from Walker (26-19).  Megan McCalla extended the Cardinal lead to nine after a lay-in (28-19).  Tripp connected on a mid-range jumper, but was matched on the other end of the floor as Walker nailed another shot.  After multiple empty possessions for both teams, Lydia Meredith (SVSU) saw her lay-up fall through the bottom of the net, pushing the Saginaw Valley State lead to double digits (32-21).  Both squads exchanged a lay-up on their ensuing possessions.  A Thompson Lay-up ignited what would be a 14-2 Warrior spurt that included a 10-0 run to end the half, giving WSU its first lead of the game (37-36).

THIRD QUARTER
The Warriors continued to roll in the third period, with Leister splashing a triple.  Both teams traded blows in the first two minutes of the half, with WSU holding a 46-43 lead.  Aleshia Jones tied the contest for Saginaw Valley State, as she knocked down a three-pointer.  Tripp immediately gave the Green and Gold the lead again, as she was able to finish at the rim on their next time down the court (46-43).  McCalla scored on a lay-up, to tie the game once more mid-way through the quarter.  WSU scored its next four points from the foul-line, as Mackenzie Miller (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft [Lakeland University]) and Lutchka both connected on each of their attempts, with a Cardinal jumper in between.  Lutchka found herself in the scoring column one more, nailing a triple (57-50).  Saginaw Valley State's Lydia Meredith made good on a lay-up attempt, cutting the WSU lead to five with just under a minute to play in the third stanza.  McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) laced a shot (59-52), but SVSU's Ava Locklear would capture the final three points of the quarter, by sinking a lay-up while being fouled and knocking down her shot from the charity stripe.

FOURTH QUARTER
Both squads scored 12 points each in the final 10 minutes of action, with Wayne state leading the entire way, despite shooting just 4-of-14 from the field (28.6 percent) including 1-of-6 from deep.

TEAM STATS
The two teams were just about even in shooting percentage, as SVSU made 30 of its 59 attempts (50.8 percent) and WSU made 26 of its 52 shots (50 percent).  Wayne state won the rebounding battle, 34 to 24 and was 14-of-19 from the charity stripe compared to the Cardinal's 4-of-7.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Taylor Thompson (17), Shea Tripp (16), and Gabi Lutchka (12) each recorded double-digit points, with Tripp hauling in a game-best eight rebounds.  Taylor added seven rebounds along with three assists.  McKenna Ferguson lead the way in assist, dishing out four.

LEADING THE CARDINALS
Four SVSU players scored in double-digits, as Saniaa Walker and Megan McCalla both tallied game-best 19 points, while Aleshia Jones and Lydia Meredith each had 10 points.  Walker nabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will next compete on Monday, January 17, as they play host to GLIAC newcomer Roosevelt, with tip-off slated for 5:30 PM at the WSU Fieldhouse.