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Wayne State University Athletics

McKenna Ferguson vs. Grand Valley State - GLIAC Tournament 2025
Ashley Cefali - GVSU Athletics
McKenna Ferguson notched a game-high 23 points in the loss at Malone.
65
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 1-2,0-0 GLIAC
75
Winner Malone MU 1-0,0-0 G-MAC
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne
1-2,0-0 GLIAC
65
Final
75
Malone MU
1-0,0-0 G-MAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 20 14 20 11 65
Malone MU 12 14 20 29 75

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Basketball Succumbs To Late Malone Rally, 75-65

WSU was out-scored 14-4 down the stretch.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (1-2 overall) led by eight points after three quarters, but was out-scored 29-11 over the final 10 minutes to fall 75-65 at Malone University (1-0 overall) Friday night in an in-region battle.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Warriors scored the first four points on buckets by senior Taylor Thompson (Grand Blanc, Mich.) and junior McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center).  After a basket by MU's Abbey Price, WSU rattled of eight consecutive points on hoops by graduate student Karrington Gordon (Lincoln Park, Mich. [Central Michigan]), Ferguson (two) and Thompson for a 12-2 lead for Pioneer head coach Selana Reale into a timeout.

Malone's Erin Kaufman connected from beyond the arc, but Thompson made two foul shots, senior Gabi Lutchka (Grass Lake, Mich.) drained a triple, and Ferguson made two free throws for a 19-5 advantage with 4:06 remaining in the opening stanza.

Malone scored the next five points as the Warriors did not make a field goal the rest of the period, and the only point came on a free throw by senior Jaci Tubergen (Hudsonville, Mich. [Bowling Green]).  A jumper by MU's Nataley Armstrong in the waning seconds made the score 20-12 in favor of WSU after 10 minutes.

Second Quarter
Wayne State led by 13 (30-17) just over four minutes into the period as Ferguson tallied five points and junior Annabel Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) made a shot from three-point range.

A lay-up by Tubergen ended a 7-0 run for Malone and extended the Warrior advantage to eight (32-24) with just under 3:30 remaining before intermission.

Sophomore Koko Sylvester (Toledo, Ohio / Start) answered a Kaufman bucket, with one of her own giving Wayne State a 34-26 lead at halftime.

Third Quarter
Thompson started the second half scoring with a la-up following a steal by Gordon.  With WSU leading 38-28, Malone responded with a 7-0 run as Kaufman notched the final five points of that spurt to make it 38-35.  Redshirt sophomore Lexi Boyke (Frankenmuth, Mich.) scored from inside the paint to stem the tide.

After the teams exchanged buckets, Tubergen and Ferguson each drained a triple pushing the margin to 10 (49-39) with 2:22 left in the stanza.  MU's Meredith Raadulic answered with a three pointer, but Ferguson collected the next five points for a 12-point advantage (54-42) with 50 seconds left.  A foul shot by Kaufman and a triple by Randulic trimmed the WSU edge to eight (54-46) after 30 minutes.

Fourth Quarter
Malone scored four of the first six points to make it 56-50, before Thompson was assessed her fifth personal foul with 8:47 remaining.

The Pioneers scored the next six points to knot the game at 56-56 as the Warriors went nearly 5:30 without a point.  A steal and fastbreak lay-up by Ferguson regained the lead with 3:55 left, but Randulic knocked down a triple on the other end giving MU its first lead of the game at 59-58.

After two free throws by Kaufman, Tubergen converted an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 61-61 with 2:40 left.

Malone's Elena Oliver tallied the game's next seven points giving the hosts a 68-61 advantage with 1:43 remaining.  Gordon and Oliver each made two foul shots, but Price made two from the charity stripe following a Wayne State miscue to make it 72-63.  MU scored three of the final five points to complete the scoring.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State made 38 percent (23-of-61) of its field goal attempts, while MU shot 45 percent (25-of-56) from the field.  WSU was 6-of-16 from beyond the arc (38 percent) with the Pioneers making 6-of-19 triple tries (32 percent).  The Warriors shot 68 percent (13-of-19) from the foul line, while Malone was 19-of-24 (79 percent).  Wayne State was out-rebounded 44-29, while both teams had 16 turnovers.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Ferguson recorded her third consecutive game of at least 19 points with a game-best 23 points.  Thompson chipped in with 10 points, while Tubergen contributed a team-high six rebounds and three assists.  Junior Emily Homan (Haslett, Mich.) also had three helpers.

LEADING THE PIONEERS
Kaufman had a double-double with a team-high 15 points and a game-best 12 rebounds, along with seven assists.  Oliver finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Randulic was 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in scoring 13 points.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will continue its season-opening four-game road trip with a Saturday (Nov. 15) contest at sixth-ranked Ashland University (1-0).  Tip-off at Kates Gymnasium is slated for 5 p.m.
 
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