DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (15-6 overall, 10-3 GLIAC) topped Davenport University (6-15 overall, 4-9 GLIAC) 67-46 in the WSU Fieldhouse on Thursday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
A Maya Mitchell (DU) bucket began the scoring, as Davenport nabbed a 2-0 lead.  Six straight points for the Warriors, including five from senior forward Gabi Lutchka (Grass Lake, Mich.), gave WSU a 6-2 lead at the 7:18 mark.  Davenport's Ellie Toney found the bottom of the net to start a 6-1 run, giving the guests an 8-7 advantage.  Wayne State tallied six of the final 10 points of the opening frame, holding a 13-12 lead after 10 minutes.  Neither squad tallied a point in the final 1:43.

SECOND QUARTER
Toney splashed two triples that sandwiched a Taylor Thompson (Grand Blanc, Mich.) basket as the Panthers went ahead 18-15 at the 8:13 mark.  The guests would not find the bottom of the net for the remainder of the period, as WSU closed the second frame with an 11-0 scoring run for a 26-18 lead.

In the second quarter, Davenport was unable to connect on any of its attempts inside the arc, with its only two made shots being the aforementioned Toney triples.

THIRD QUARTER
A Karrington Gordon (Lincoln Park, Mich. Lincoln Park [Central Michigan]) jumper followed by a McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) lay-up stretched Wayne State's lead to 12 points (30-18).  DU's scoring drought extended to exactly 10 minutes, as Anna Axtell connected on a lay-up with 8:13 remaining in the third quarter that prompted a 6-2 run for the Panthers (32-24).  An 18-4 run for the Green and Gold pushed the score to 50-28 after three quarters of action.

FOURTH QUARTER
Reese Polega (DU) notched nine consecutive points to begin the final period, cutting the Wayne State lead to 13 points (50-37) with 7:28 remaining.  A Lutchka and-one ended the dry spell for the Warriors, and started a 17-9 run to close the game, with the hosts prevailing 67-46.

TEAM STATISTICS
The Green and Gold shot 22-of-52 from the floor (42.3 percent) compared to 23.6 percent for the guests (13-of-55).  From behind the arc, WSU connected on 5-of-17 attempts (29.4 percent), while the Panthers were 3-of-13 (23.1 percent).  At the charity stripe, DU made 94.4 percent (17-of-18), while the Green and Gold went 18-of-23 (78.3 percent).

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Lutchka led all scorers with 22 points (9-of-14 FG, 2-of-7 3-PT, 2-of-2 FT), for her fifth 20-point performance of the year.  Ferguson added 12 points (3-of-9 FG, 1-of-2 3PT, 5-of-8 FT) with a trio of steals and four helpers.  Lexi Boyke (Frankenmuth, Mich.) dished out a career-high four assists, while Annabel Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) blocked a pair of shot attempts, the most of her career.

LEADING THE PANTHERS
A trio of Davenport student-athletes reached double figures.  Those three were Ellie Toney (14), Nevaeh Williams (13), and Reese Polega (11).  Toney had a team-best three assists, while Williams hauled in seven rebounds, which tied for a game high.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will play host to top-ranked and unbeaten Grand Valley State on Saturday, in the WSU Fieldhouse.  The game is slated to begin at 1:00 PM.