Box Score Box Score (HTML)  |  Photo Gallery  |  Video Highlights

DETROIT -- Four starters scored in double figures Saturday, but the Wayne State University women's basketball team dropped its first home contest of the season in a 85-78 defeat to Saginaw Valley State at the Matthaei Center. The No. 18-ranked Warriors had won its previous 17 games at home dating back to last season.

WSU falls to 15-2 in the GLIAC and 18-3 overall. SVSU improved to 10-6 in the conference and 12-7 overall. Even with the loss, Wayne State stayed in sole possession of first place in the league, as Michigan Tech fell to Grand Valley on Saturday.

WSU was led in scoring by sophomore Destiny Lavita-Stephens (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Goodrich), who finished with 15 points. Senior Imari Redfield (Detroit, Mich. / Country Day) added 14 points, while junior Jackie Jones (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) tallied 11 points and seven assists. Junior Kayla Bridges (Canton, Mich.) was the fourth member of the starting lineup in double figures with 10 points.

Wayne State took its first lead of the game at the 15:27 mark of the first half after Lavita-Stephens knocked down a triple, giving WSU a 11-10 advantage. SVSU would regain the lead however and after a Lavita-Stephens lay-up tied the game, 16-16, the Cardinals went on a 14-2 run to go up 30-18 with 8:05 left in the first 20 minutes.

The Warriors scored seven of the next nine points, highlighted by a three-pointer by junior Ondrea Hughes (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Loy Norrix) and a lay-up by Redfield. SVSU again led by double figures after SVSU's Shelby Herrington converted on a three-point play with 3:05 left in the first half. Freshman Christina Green (Southfield, Mich. / Lathrup) scored the final six points of the half for Wayne State, which trailed 45-36 at the break.

WSU trailed at halftime despite shooting 52 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. WSU was 8-of-10 from the free throw line, but had 11 turnovers in the first half. Lavita-Stephens had nine points to lead Wayne State at halftime.

The Warriors cut the SVSU led down to five points three different times in the first four minutes of the second half. A lay-up by Jones cut the Cardinal lead to 51-46, with 16:26 remaining. Saginaw Valley's Katelyn Carriere knocked down back-to-back triples, however, as the Cardinals surged to a 57-46 lead. Lavita-Stephens countered with her second triple of the night to cut the lead to eight points, 57-49, with 14:15 to play.

SVSU again used a big run, behind Carriere and Kayla Womack, scoring 19 of the next 26 points to earn a 76-56 advantage with 6:28 left in the contest. Carriere had nine points in the stretch, while Womack added eight points.

Wayne State countered with a run of its own, cutting a 20-point SVSU lead down to six points after Redfield's jumper made it 79-73 SVSU with 1:03 left to go. SVSU would increase the lead back to 10 points, 83-73, with 19 seconds left. Junior center Shareta Brown (Pontiac, Mich. / Grand Blanc) made a lay-up and a triple in a span of five seconds to get the Warriors to within five points, 83-78, with 5.8 seconds left on the clock. However, Carriere sank both free throws in a double bonus situation to secure the victory.

Brown finished with nine points, seven rebounds and two assists for Wayne State. Junior Ashley Wilson (Portage, Mich. / Northern) added four rebounds off the bench for WSU.

Carriere scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second half for SVSU. She hit 5-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc. Womack added 19 points for SVSU.

Wayne State shot 50.8 percent from the field and made 12-of-15 free throw shots. SVSU was 46.9 percent shooting from the field and was 18-of-21 from the foul line. WSU had 18 turnovers, while SVSU turned the ball over 13 times. The Warriors had a slight rebound advantage, 33-32.

The Warriors will head to the Upper Peninsula next week for two games, starting with a showdown at Michigan Tech on Thursday. The game is slated for 5:30 p.m.