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Wayne State University Athletics

McKenna Ferguson
Romer Santacruz
McKenna Ferguson scored a game-high 19 points in the victory over Roosevelt.
56
Roosevelt RU 8-20,7-13 GLIAC
75
Winner Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 23-6,17-3 GLIAC
Roosevelt RU
8-20,7-13 GLIAC
56
Final
75
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne
23-6,17-3 GLIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Roosevelt RU 19 11 8 18 56
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 20 22 20 13 75

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Basketball Advances To GLIAC Semifinals With 75-56 Win over Roosevelt

WSU trio of Ferguson, Lutchka and Thompson combined for 43 points, 21 rebounds and 13 assists.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (23-6) advanced to the GLIAC Semifinals with a 75-56 triumph over Roosevelt University (8-20 overall) Wednesday evening at the WSU Fieldhouse.  It was WSU's ninth consecutive victory for a squad that entered the GLIAC Tournament ranked No. 28 nationally this week by the WBCA.  The Warriors will face third-seeded Ferris State University (25-5 overall) at 4:30 PM on Saturday at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The opening stanza featured eight lead changes with the largest leads being five for WSU (8-3) and four for the Lakers (16-12).  There were also four ties in the opening 10 minutes.

The Warriors struck first on the game's opening possession with a jumper by senior Taylor Thompson (Grand Blanc, Mich.) off a feed from classmate Jaci Tubergen (Hudsonville, Mich.).  RU responded 77 seconds later with a triple by Brynne Katcher.  Wayne State answered with six consecutive points on two free throws by senior Gabi Lutchka (Grass Lake, Mich.), a fast-break lay-up by Thompson, and a fast-break lay-up by junior guard McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center).

Following a 5-0 spurt by Roosevelt, WSU scored four of the next six points, which included a triple by Tubergen for a 12-10 advantage.  A 6-0 run by the Lakers ended on a conventional three-point by Ferguson to pull the Warriors within one at 16-15.  After three defensive stands by Wayne State senior Mackenzie Miller (Schoolcraft, Mich. [Lakeland University]) converted an old-fashioned three point play.  RU tallied the next three points before sophomore Lexi Boyke (Frankenmuth, Mich.) made a pair of foul shots, which gave Wayne State a 20-19 lead with 26 seconds left in the period.

Second Quarter
WSU continued the momentum with the first seven points of the second period on a triple by graduate student Karrington Gordon (Lincoln Park, Mich. [Central Michigan]), a fast-break lay-up by Ferguson and a Thompson bucket.

RU's Kelly Boyle scored at the 8:12 mark, but the Warriors out-scored the guests 9-2 over the next two minutes for a 36-23 advantage.  Ferguson totaled five points during the spurt which also included baskets by Lutchka and Gordon.

Roosevelt was within 10 (38-28) with 3:51 remaining before intermission, but there were only six points scored (four by WSU and two by RU) before halftime.

Wayne State led 42-30 after 20 minutes with Ferguson scoring 14 points in the first half.  Katcher led RU with 10 first half points.

Third Quarter
WSU scored the first four points of after intermission for a 16-point margin (46-30), then increased the advantage to 23 (56-33) with just under four minutes remaining in the third period.  Four different Warriors scored during the 10-3 run, with Boyke tallying the final four WSU points.

Over the final three minutes of the stanza, Wayne State held a slim 6-5 scoring edge to lead 62-38 heading into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter
The Warriors led by 25 on a couple of occasions (64-39 and 66-41), before Roosevelt went on an 8-0 spurt to cut its deficit to 17 (66-49).  A lay-up from junior Annabel Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) ended the initial RU run, but the Lakers scored the next five points to pull within 14 (68-54) with 2:08 remaining.

Roosevelt managed just two free throws in the final 120 seconds, while WSU tallied the final seven points for a 75-56 home court win.  It was WSU's 16th straight win at the WSU Fieldhouse with the last setback coming on Feb. 8, 2025, in a 66-61 loss to Northern Michigan.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot 46 percent (29-of-63) from the floor, despite connecting on just 4-of-20 (20 percent) from three-point range.  Roosevelt was 18-of-64 (28 percent) from the field and 4-of-27 (15 percent) from beyond the arc.  Neither team shot well from the foul line with WSU making 13-of-19 (68 percent) and RU connecting on 16-of-25 (64 percent).  The Warriors had a 48-39 edge in rebounding, along with a 48-18 advantage in points in the paint.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Four WSU players scored in double figures led the Ferguson with a game-high 19 points.  Thompson nearly had a double-double with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.  Both Lutchka and Boyke contributed 10 points.  Thompson and Ferguson each had five assists, with Ferguson notching three steals and was +27.

LEADING THE LAKERS
Katcher totaled a team-best 14 points, while Kelly Boyle chipped in with 13 points and a team-high four assists.  RU's leading scorer on the season Marie Outlay (12.1 PPG) was held to seven points.

UP NEXT
The GLIAC Semifinals will be held on Saturday at GVSU with the host Lakers playing Northern Michigan at 2 PM, followed by the Warriors facing third-seeded Ferris State University (25-5 overall) at 4:30 PM.  The two semifinal victors will play in the GLIAC Championship game at 3 PM on Sunday.

 
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