NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- The 14th-ranked Wayne State University women's basketball team (21-4, 17-4 GLIAC) journeyed for a Saturday afternoon matchup at Walsh (18-9, 12-9 GLIAC). WSU dropped the back-and-forth contest 89-83 as the Cavs secured their playoff spot with the victory.
Walsh shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from behind the arc in the first half to take an eight-point lead into halftime. The Warriors outscored the Cavaliers in the second half, 43-41 but it proved to be not enough as the Warriors' comeback attempt ran out of time.
Shareta Brown (Pontiac, Mich. / Grand Blanc) finished with a WSU career-high 38 points and 21 rebounds.
A three-pointer from
Brittany Streetman (Warren, Mich. / Lincoln) put WSU on top, 9-5, at the 17:27 mark.
Walsh responded with a 9-0 run to take a 14-9 lead with 15 minutes left before halftime. Brown kept WSU close, 16-14, at the 13:44 mark with a conventional three-point play.
The Green & Gold were unable to find an answer for Walsh's Kelsey Funderburgh as she knocked down back-to-back triples to keep the home team in front, 25-18. Another trey from Funderburgh gave the Cavs their biggest lead of the half, 38-30, with 4:14 left before the break. The deficit reached 10 on the next possession.
WSU would not come any closer than seven the remainder of the half as Wash went into the locker room leading 48-40. Funderburgh powered the Cavs with 24 points including six three-pointers. Brown led WSU with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Streetman and
Gabby Machado (Pontiac, Mich. / Northern) both chipped in 10 during the first 20 minutes.
Walsh opened the second half with six quick points to take a 54-42 lead at the 18:35 mark.
Kristen Long (Corunna, Mich. / Durand) connected from deep before Brown scored eight consecutive Warrior points to trim the deficit to 60-56 with 12:17 remaining.
Brown brought WSU within one, 65-64, with a jumper at the 9:40 mark. Another Long triple kept the Warriors behind by one, 70-69. Once again, the Cavaliers had an answer and extended their lead to three.
A jumper from Brown cut the home lead to one again at 72-71 with seven minutes left to play. Two free throws from WSU's All-American gave the Warriors their first lead, 73-72, since the 16:19 mark of the opening half.
Long's third triple of the half gave WSU the lead 76-75 and Streetman followed with another triple to put the visitors on top 79-76 with 4:23 remaining.
Brown kept the WSU momentum rolling with an old fashion three-point play at the 3:52 mark to help WSU regain its three-point lead (82-79).
Brooklyn Wooten made back-to-back jumpers to give the Cavs an 83-82 lead and another Walsh bucket extend the lead to 85-82 at the 1:38 mark. The offense went cold to finish the game and a free throw from Long would be the final point of the afternoon for WSU who had three turnovers and were 0-for-5 from the field after Brown's aforementioned bucket and free throw.
Aiding Brown's record performance were three other Warriors in double-figures led by Streetman's 17 points. Machado contributed 10 points, while Long, who made a career-high three triples, also had 10 points off the bench.
Funderburgh finished with a team-high 28 points and knocked down six of the 11 Cavs' three-pointers.
The Green & Gold will close out the regular season at Findlay on Thursday at 5:30 PM. A win would give the Warriors the No. 2 seed for the GLIAC Tournament and the GLIAC South Division title.
