SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (9-3 overall, 4-0 GLIAC) earned a 74-70 win at Lake Superior State University (3-9 overall, 0-4 GLIAC) on Sunday.  The Warriors open conference play 4-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.  WSU advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen that season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
Karrington Gordon (Lincoln Park, Mich. [Central Michigan]) sank 1-of-2 attempts from the charity stripe to begin the scoring.  Buckets by Taylor Thompson (Grand Blanc, Mich.) and Gordon pushed the WSU advantage to 5-0.  A pair of free throws both ways made it 7-2 in favor of Wayne State at the 7:15 mark.

A 9-4 run for the Lakers tied the contest at 11-11.

Wayne State re-captured the lead after Mackenzie Miller (Schoolcraft, Mich. [Lakeland University]) found the bottom of the net on back-to-back lay-ups, including an and-one.  Neither squad tallied a point in the final 2:11 of the period, with Wayne State leading 16-11 after 10 minutes of action.

SECOND QUARTER
A bucket and a triple for LSSU opened the second-quarter scoring to tie the contest at 16-16.  An 8-3 WSU spurt gave Wayne State a 24-19 advantage that led to a Lake Superior State timeout at 5:17.  Out of the stoppage, the Green and Gold went on a 12-4 run, including 12-consecutive points, for a 36-23 advantage at the half-time break.

THIRD QUARTER
Triples by McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) and Jaci Tubergen (Hudsonville, Mich. [Bowling Green]) pushed the score to 42-23 in favor of Wayne State.  At the 7:11 mark, LSSU made good on a lay-up, its first field goal since 6:31 remaining in the second stanza.  The Lakers tallied another bucket, but the Warriors responded with a pair of lay-ups, making it 46-27 at the 6:22 mark.   

Lake Superior State posted a 19-11 run to close the penultimate frame, pulling within 11 points (57-46) with 10:00 left to play.

FOURTH QUARTER
Two LSSU lay-ups sandwiched around a Ferguson triple opened the final quarter.  The Warriors tallied the ensuing six points, pulling ahead 66-50.

Lake Superior State erupted for an 18-5 scoring run that included 11 unanswered points, reeling within three (71-68), forcing a WSU timeout with 32 seconds remaining.

Three Wayne State free throws and one lay-up for LSSU closed the game, as the Green and Gold prevailed 74-70.

The Warriors did not connect on a field goal for the final 3:40 of the contest.

TEAM STATISTICS
The Warriors made 26-of-60 attempts (43.3 percent) including 6-of-19 from deep (31.6 percent), while the Lakers connected on 25-of-65 shots (38.5 percent) and 9-of-29 from long range (31 percent).  The Green and Gold edged LSSU 39-37 in the rebounding battle.  At the charity stripe, Wayne State made 72.7 percent of attempts (16-of-22) to Lake Superior State's 91.7 percent (11-of-12).

LEADING THE WARRIORS
A trio of Warriors reached double-digit scoring, as Ferguson led all scorers with 20 points, Thompson added 17, and Gordon scored a season-best 15 points.  Thompson contributed eight rebounds, four steals, two assists, and a pair of blocks.  Gabi Lutchka dished out a career-high seven assists.

LEADING THE LAKERS
Dara Capaldi led LSSU's scoring efforts, with 19 points, and added four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.  Grace Bradford contributed 16 points with eight boards.  Clare Conzelmann produced 14 points and six rebounds.

UP NEXT
Wayne State travels to Allendale, Mich., to face top-ranked Grand Valley State at 5:30 PM on Thursday, January 8, in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.