DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (21-6, 16-3 GLIAC) collected a 98-61 home win over Lake Superior State University (7-19, 4-14 GLIAC) in the penultimate game of the regular season.

During the win, graduate student forward Gabi Lutchka (Grass Lake, Mich.) and senior forward Taylor Thompson (Grand Blanc, Mich.) each surpassed 1,000 points in their Wayne State careers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
The Green and Gold opened the contest with a 6-2 run before LSSU tallied five-straight points for a one-point lead.  A Karrington Gordon (Lincoln Park, Mich. [Central Michigan]) jumper put Wayne State ahead by one, but a Lara Aguzzi (LSSU) triple prompted a 10-6 scoring run for the Lakers (17-14).  WSU closed the stanza with a 12-4 run that included seven-straight points to end the quarter, as WSU led 26-21 after 10 minutes.

SECOND QUARTER
The Warriors extended their scoring barrage to 15-straight points (eight in the second stanza) for a 34-21 advantage, holding LSSU scoreless until a jumper at the 5:14 mark sparked a 15-4 spurt for the Lakers, as the guests pulled within two points (38-36).  WSU was able to notch the final six points of the frame, including a buzzer-beating jumper by Lutchka to surpass 1,000 career points for a 44-36 advantage heading into the halftime intermission.

THIRD QUARTER 
A Gordon jumper and a Jaci Tubergen (Hudsonville, Mich. [Bowling Green]) triple sandwiched a Lake Superior State bucket to begin the third stanza.  LSSU tallied seven of the next nine points to shorten the gap to six (51-45) with 7:24 remaining.  The next 15 points belonged to the Warriors, as Wayne State built its lead to 21 points.  In the run, Thompson buried a jumper to join Lutchka in the 1,000-point club.  The scoring was nearly even to close the third quarter, with a slight 8-7 edge for the hosts.  WSU led 74-52 with one period remaining.

FOURTH QUARTER
Wayne State began the final frame with a 22-2 scoring spurt for a 96-54 advantage.  The Lakers tallied seven of the final nine points as WSU posted the 98-61 triumph.

TEAM STATISTICS
The Green and Gold shot 53.6 percent from the floor (37-of-69), the squad's eighth time doing so (7-1), including 8-of-22 from deep (36.4 percent).  LSSU made 35.9 percent of attempts (23-of-64), including 8-of-30 from behind the arc.  WSU was 16-of-21 from the charity stripe (76.2 percent), while Lake Superior State was 7-of-9 (77.8 percent).  Wayne State nearly doubled LSSU in the rebounding department, hauling in 49 to the Lakers' 28.  

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Lutchka led all scorers with 20 points (7-of-13 FG, 3-of-7 3PT, 3-of-3 FT), her third-straight 20-point game, as added a game-best five assists.  McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) contributed 19 points (6-of-9 FG, 7-of-7 FT), with a game-high four steals.  Tubergen tallied a career-high 17 points (6-of-7 FG, 4-of-5 3PT, 1-of-2 FT), with four helpers.  Thompson posted her ninth double-double of the season, with 17 points and 14 boards.

LEADING THE LAKERS
Clare Conzelmann had a team-high 15 points (5-of-12 FG, 3-of-7 3PT, 2-of-2 FT).  Aguzzi added 11 points, while Dara Capaldi led the squad with five rebounds. three assists, and a pair of steals.

UP NEXT
The women's basketball team will close the regular season at home against Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, February 28, with the game scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.   Six student-athletes will be honored prior to the game for Senior Day.