DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (16-6 overall, 11-3 GLIAC) bested undefeated and top-ranked Grand Valley State University (21-1 overall, 13-1 GLIAC) 78-77 on Saturday afternoon inside the WSU Fieldhouse.  The victory marks the Warriors first win over the Lakers since an 89-63 triumph on January 2, 2015, in Detroit.

GVSU had won 34 consecutive games, with the first win of the streak being an 85-67 win over WSU on February 20, 2025, in Allendale, Mich.

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
Senior forward Gabi Lutchka (Grass Lake, Mich.) and junior guard McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) each found the bottom of the net to give Wayne State a 4-0 advantage.  The Lakers tallied six-straight points to take a 6-4 lead.  A pair of Lutchka baskets that sandwiched a GVSU lay-up knotted the contest at eight points apiece.  The squads went back-and-forth for the next five minutes with the top-ranked team in the nation holding an 18-17 lead.  The Warriors tallied the final six points of the quarter to lead 23-18 after the first 10 minutes of action.

SECOND QUARTER
A Ferguson triple began the second frame (26-18), but a 7-4 GVSU run cut the hosts lead to five points (30-25) at the 6:41 mark.  Grand Valley State tallied an 8-7 run, before junior guard Annabel Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) nailed a long-range jumper which ignited a 12-3 WSU run to end the first half.  The Warriors led 49-34 at intermission.  GVSU entered the match-up allowing just 51.9 points per contest and Wayne State nearly matched that total in the opening 20 minutes.

THIRD QUARTER
Senior forward Taylor Thompson (Grand Blanc, Mich.) stretched the lead to 51-34, before a pair of baskets from GVSU's MacKenzie Bisballe shortened the gap to 51-38.  Lutchka found the bottom of the net, but six straight points for the guests made it 53-44.  Senior forward Mackenzie Miller (Schoolcraft, Mich. [Lakeland University]) converted an and-one to push the margin back to double figures (55-44) with 4:09 left in the third period.  A 7-4 run for the Lakers cut the lead to nine points (60-51), before a 6-2 spurt including four points from sophomore guard Koko Sylvester (Toledo, Ohio / Start) pushed the score to 66-53 with one quarter remaining.

FOURTH QUARTER
Both offenses slowed to begin the final quarter, as Wayne State led 71-57 with 6:07 remaining.  The nation's No. 1 ranked-team erupted for a 16-4 scoring run, pulling within two points (75-73) with 1:03 to play.  Graduate student Karrington Gordon (Lincoln Park, Mich. [Central Michigan]) split a pair at the line to push WSU's lead to three, but Paige VanStee knocked down Grand Valley State's only triple of the game, to tie the contest at 76 points apiece  Nicole Kamin (GVSU) split a pair at the charity stripe giving the Lakers a 77-76 lead with under 30 seconds remaining.  On the ensuing possession, senior guard Jaci Tubergen (Hudsonville, Mich. [Bowling Green]) made her way to the charity stripe and sank both shots with three seconds remaining, giving the Green and Gold a 78-77 lead, and the eventual win.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Ferguson contributed 19 points and four assists, while Thompson amassed 19 points and eight boards.  Lutchka added 10 points.  Ayrault dished out four helpers to go with five points.

LEADING THE LAKERS
Nicole Kamin had a game-high 22 points along with a pair of steals.  VanStee added 21 points with eight rebounds and six steals.  Ava Scanlon tallied 12 points and eight boards.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State finished with a season-high 55.4 percent (31-of-56) from the field, the team's fifth effort of the season with an efficiency of at least 50 percent (4-1 record).  Grand Valley State finished at 38.8 percent (26-of-67), its third-lowest output of the 2025-26 campaign.  Neither team shot the ball well from behind the arc including 30 percent (3-of-10) for the Warriors and 10 percent (1-of-10) for the Lakers.  GVSU attempted 15 more free throws (24-of-31, 77.4 percent) than WSU (13-of-16, 81.3 percent). 

Today's meeting was an absolute war in the paint as that's where 102 of the game's 155 points were scored (65.8 percent), a 54-48 advantage for the home team.  Grand Valley State out-rebounded Wayne State by 12 (41-29), which resulted in an 18-8 edge in second-chance scoring.

WSU led for 33:20 of game time compared to 4:39 for the Lakers.  The game featured eight lead changes and six ties.

This was Wayne State's first win over the nation's top-ranked team in program history.  WSU was 0-10 previously:

11-20-2008 -- Lost, 75-51 at Northern Kentucky
12-3-2009 -- Lost, 70-42 at Michigan Tech
12-19-2009 -- Lost, 84-46 vs. Michigan Tech
12-5-2012 -- Lost, 77-58 vs. Ashland
12-7-2017 -- Lost, 120-70 at Ashland
2-1-2018 -- Lost, 101-84 vs. Ashland
11-10-2023 -- Lost, 98-61 at Ashland
1-13-2024 -- Lost, 81-48 at Grand Valley State
12-7-2024 -- Lost, 80-59 vs. Grand Valley State
1-8-2026 -- Lost, 81-80 at Grand Valley State

UP NEXT
Wayne State will play its third home game in a row for the first time this season on Thursday night when it hosts No. 14 Northern Michigan (20-4 overall, 11-3 GLIAC) at 5:30 p.m.