Box Score HOUGHTON, Mich. -- The Wayne State University women's basketball squad (13-4 overall, 8-1 GLIAC) won its fourth consecutive contest rallying from a nine-point halftime deficit to claim an 86-83 triumph Thursday evening at Michigan Tech (11-6 overall, 5-4 GLIAC). WSU has won 10 of its last 11 games after starting the season 3-3 with losses to two ranked teams (13-1 Texas Woman's and 13-4 Malone).
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
It took the Warriors over 2:30 to get on the board but only trailed 3-2 following a steal and jumper by sophomore guard
Koko Sylvester (Toledo, Ohio / Start). After a Huskie bucket, senior forward
Gabi Lutchka (Grass Lake, Mich.) made a pair of free throws to pull within one at 5-4 just over four minutes into the game. Junior guard
McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) ended a 5-0 MTU run draining a triple. A lay-up by senior forward
Mackenzie Miller (Schoolcraft, Mich. [Lakeland University]) was sandwiched around a pair of Michigan Tech field goals.
Two foul shots by senior guard
Jaci Tubergen (Hudsonville, Mich. [Bowling Green]) preceded a Huskie basket. Ferguson again connected from long range, then Lutchka split a pair at the charity stripe to cut the WSU deficit to one (16-15), but MTU tallied seven of the next nine points. Lutchka drilled a shot from beyond the arc in the final seconds of the stanza to trim the margin to three (23-20) after 10 minutes.
Second Quarter
Ferguson scored on WSU's first possession of the period cutting the deficit to one (23-22). Michigan Tech recorded eight of the next 10 points to lead by eight (31-23) as the Warriors went over three minutes without a made field goal until freshman forward
AJ Rickli (Mattawan, Mich. / Paw Paw) scored off a feed from Lutchka just before the mid-point of the quarter. Wayne State trailed by nine (36-27) before junior guard
Annabel Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) connected on a jumper.
After Ferguson's third triple of the first half with 3:28 remaining, the Huskies out-scored the guests 9-6 the rest of the period to lead 47-38 at intermission. WSU never led in the first 20 minutes and trailed by nine on multiple occasions (34-25, 36-27, and 38-29). Ferguson had 14 first half points, while MTU's Soraya Timms notched a game-best 17 points during the opening 20 minutes.
Third Quarter
Michigan Tech made three free throws in the first two minutes after halftime for its largest lead of the game (12, 50-38). Graduate student guard
Karrington Gordon (Lincoln Park, Mich. [Central Michigan]) drained her lone triple of the game to jump start the Wayne State offense. Senior forward
Taylor Thompson (Grand Blanc, Mich.) scored the game's next five points to pull the Warriors within four (50-46), then answered a pair of Huskie foul shots with another lay-up giving her seven points in the first 5:15 of the second half after not scoring at all in the first two quarters.
A Lutchka jumper was followed by an Ella Mason lay-up as MTU re-gained a four-point advantage (54-50). A Thompson lay-up and a triple by Lutchka gave WSU its first lead of the game at 55-54 with just over three minutes left in the stanza. Michigan Tech went ahead 56-55 on a pair of foul shots, but Miller scored as the lead changed hands three times in 65 seconds. Junior guard
Emily Homan (Haslett, Mich.) made a long-range shot but MTU's Dani Nuest did the same 18 seconds later.
With the game knotted at 60-60, Lutchka grabbed a defensive rebound on a missed free throw in the final 30 seconds, then connected from downtown putting WSU ahead 63-60 with 10 minutes to play. Wayne State out-scored the hosts 25-13 in the third period as the Warriors shot 56 percent (10-of-18) compared to 15 percent (2-of-13) for Michigan Tech.
Fourth Quarter
The score was tied at 63-63 after MTU's Kendall Standfest converted an old-fashioned three-point play just 31 seconds into the final period. The WSU drought would last nearly 2:30 until Tubergen connected from beyond the arc for a 66-63 lead. Ferguson scored five of the next seven points for six-point advantage (71-65). MTU made it a two-point game (71-69) with 4:35 left, Tubergen again drained a triple pushing the margin to five (74-69).
Mason's triple with 2:32 remaining, pulled the Huskies within three (77-74). After the Warriors came up empty, Miller had a key blocked shot with 100 seconds left, and Tubergen made a conventional three-point play to make it a six-point contest at 80-74. Tubergen split a pair at the charity stripe, and Ferguson sank a pair of foul shots to extend the WSU lead to nine (83-74) with 46 seconds remaining.
Mason drained a triple after a timeout to advance the ball, which was followed by a pair of Thompson free throws (85-77). Mason made things interesting with two more three pointers (85-83) as Wayne State missed four consecutive foul shots. Tubergen made 1-of-2 from the free throw line with three seconds left and Ferguson's fifth steal of the game sealed the road win for WSU.
TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot 46 percent (30-of-65) from the floor compared to MTU's 40 percent (27-of-67). WSU was 10-of-25 (40 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Huskies were 11-of-28 (39 percent). The Warriors were just 16-of-26 (62 percent) at the charity stripe with Michigan Tech making 18-of-22 (82 percent). Both teams had 41 rebounds, and combined for just 20 turnovers (nine by WSU, and 11 miscues for MTU).
LEADING THE WARRIORS
Ferguson totaled a team-high 21 points along with five rebounds and five steals, while Lutchka contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Both Thompson (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Tubergen (career-high 14 points, 10 rebounds) notched double-doubles.
LEADING THE HUSKIES
Mason tallied a game-best 22 points on 6-of-13 from beyond the arc (7-of-18 FG, 2-2 FT). Standfest recorded a double-double with 20 points and game-high 11 rebounds. Timms also chipped in with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds before fouling out.
UP NEXT
Wayne State will conclude the first half of the GLIAC's double round-robin schedule with a 1 pm tip-off on Saturday at Northern Michigan.
