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Wayne State University Athletics

Shea Tripp vs. Lawrence Tech (11/26/23)
(C) Douglas Johnson
Shea Tripp led WSU with 26 points in the loss at NMU.
66
Wayne State WSW 6-2,0-1 GLIAC
81
Winner Northern Mich. NMU 5-3,1-0 GLIAC
Wayne State WSW
6-2,0-1 GLIAC
66
Final
81
Northern Mich. NMU
5-3,1-0 GLIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Wayne State WSW 16 9 24 17 66
Northern Mich. NMU 19 23 18 21 81

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

Cold Shooting First Half Dooms Women's Hoops In 81-66 Setback at NMU

Tripp and Lutchka combine for 46 of Wayne State's 66 points.

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- Forced to play in the Wildcats practice gymnasium due to a court issue, the Wayne State University women's basketball squad (6-2 overall, 0-1 GLIAC) had its six-game winning streak snapped with an 81-66 setback at Northern Michigan University (5-3 overall, 1-0 GLIAC) Thursday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
In the first 100 seconds of the GLIAC opener for both teams, WSU went 0-for-4 from the field missing two lay-ups and a pair of triple tries, while NMU connected on its first four field goal attempts (including one three pointer) for a 9-0 advantage.

Junior Shea Tripp (Jackson, Mich. / Michigan Center) ended the nearly 2:30 scoring drought with a pair of foul shots, but Wildcat Makaylee Kuhn answered with two free throws followed by a Mackenzie Holzwart bucket extended the hosts margin to 11 (13-2).  Tripp and sophomore Gabi Lutchka (Grass Lake, Mich.) both made lay-ups, but Kuhn scored again giving Northern Michigan a 15-6 lead near the mid-point of the opening stanza.

The Warriors responded with a 10-0 run to grab a 16-15 advantage with just under three minutes remaining in the period.  Tripp tallied an old-fashioned three-point play, before freshman McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) made four shots from the charity stripe in a span of 30 seconds.  Lutchka concluded the spurt with a triple off a feed from junior Alyssa Leister (St. Louis, Mich. / Alma).  Holzwart and Kuhn each made buckets to give NMU a 19-16 lead after 10 minutes.

Second Quarter
After a Lutchka basket cut the WSU deficit to four (22-18), the Wildcats ended the half on a 20-7 run to lead 42-25 at intermission.  Wayne State was just 2-of-12 from the field, including 0-of-5 from inside the arc during the final nine minutes of the second period.  Leister and Ferguson each drained triples, while senior ZaMaria Polk (Detroit, Mich. / Mumford) made a free throw.

The Warriors shot just 20 percent (7-of-35) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, and were 3-of-18 (17 percent) from three-point range, while being out-scored 18-8 in the paint during the opening 20 minutes.

Third Quarter
Tripp connected on three triples in the first 2:15 of the second half, but Wayne State still trailed 46-34.  A three-pointer by Lutchka just past the mid-point of the period, made it a 10-point contest (49-39), before Ferguson scored following a steal by senior Kate McArthur (Warren, Mich. / Cousino).  Less than a minute later, Ferguson scored again and WSU's deficit was six (49-43).  Long range shots continued as Lutchka and McArthur both drained shots from beyond the arc to pull the Warriors within five (54-49).  The Wildcats ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead by 11 (60-49) heading to the final stanza.

Fourth Quarter
In the first 2:50 of the period, the Wayne State defense limited Northern Michigan to just three points, but the Warrior offense was unable to score until a jumper by Tripp made it 63-51.  WSU trailed by 11 (69-58) following a Lutchka triple with 4:51 remaining.  A lay-up by Leister with 3:33 left once again made it an 11-point contest (72-61).  Northern Michigan concluded the contest with a 9-5 run to win 81-66.

TEAM STATS
Wayne State shot just 34 percent (22-of-64) from the floor compared to NMU's 52 percent (31-of-60).  WSU made 8-fo-14 three pointers in the second half to finish at 34 percent (11-of-32), while the Wildcats were 9-of-21 (43 percent) from beyond the arc.  The Warriors were 11-of-16 (69 percent) from the charity stripe with Northern Michigan making 10-of-14 (71 percent) from the foul line.  NMU had a 42-28 edge in rebounding.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Tripp finished one point shy of career best with 26, which included four triples and a team-high seven rebounds.  Lutchka set a career-high for the second consecutive contest with 20 points, while also making four shots from beyond the arc.  Ferguson was the only other WSU player to reach double digits with 11 points.  Leister and McArthur tied for the team lead with four assists each.

LEADING THE WILDCATS
Kuhn netted a game-high 30 points, which included 11-of-19 from the field.  She also contributed a game-high 11 rebounds to garner a double-double.  Holzwart added 17 points and a game-high seven assists, while Kayla Tierney chipped in with 14 points.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will conclude its pre-exam slate with a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday at Michigan Tech.
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