DETROIT -- The 11th-ranked Wayne State University women's basketball squad (9-1 overall, 5-1 GLIAC) recorded a 75-53 triumph over visiting Ferris State University (6-3 overall, 4-2) Sunday afternoon at the Matthaei to move into a tie for first place in the GLIAC overall standings with Michigan Tech.

WSU fell behind 2-0 as FSU won the opening tip at Dena Droste drained a jumper.  On its ensuing possession, junior guard Destiny Lavita-Stephens (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Goodrich) connected on her first of four first half triples.  The Bulldogs later knotted the game at five on a triple by Destiney Robinson at the 18:28 mark, before the Warriors responded with an 13-2 run over the next 2:45.  Lavita-Stephens hit two more three pointers, senior center Shareta Brown (Pontiac, Mich. / Grand Blanc) added a triple of her own, along with a bucket each by Brown and Lavita-Stephens.

After taking the 11-point advantage (18-7), Wayne State's lead remained between six and nine points until a triple by freshman Shannon Wilson (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Bloomfield Hills) at the 7:38 mark increased the margin to 12 (30-18).  A minute later, Wilson added a fast-break lay-up to push the lead to 14.

With 3:52 left before intermission, Lavita-Stephens hit another three-pointer giving Wayne State its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 15 (37-22).  FSU closed out the first half on a 9-4 run to pull within 10 (41-31) at the break. 

Lavita-Stephens had 16 points at halftime, while Brown totaled 11 points and seven rebounds.  Droste led FSU with seven points.  The Warriors shot 49 percent (16-of-33) from the field, including 6-of-15 for 40 percent from beyond the arc.  WSU was granted just four free throw attempts in the first half compared to 14 for the Bulldogs, who shot 39 percent (9-of-23) from the floor.

Ferris State also scored first in the second half on a bucket by Christina Branch to make it an eight-point contest (41-33).  Wayne State answered with a 12-1 spurt over the next 5:45 keyed by four points from Brown, a triple by Lavita-Stephens, three points by sophomore Gabby Machado (Pontiac, Mich. / Northern) and a basket by Wilson.

The Bulldogs were within 12 on two occasions, but after the second instance (56-44 with 7:14 left), the Warriors went on a 9-0 run as FSU went scoreless for over three minutes.  Junior guard Kristen Long (Corunna, Mich. / Durand) started the run with a triple late in the shot clock, senior guard Ondrea Hughes (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Loy Norrix) added a pair of lay-ups, and Lavita-Stephens sank a pair from the charity stripe.

WSU shot 46 percent in the second half on 13-of-28, compared to 28 percent (8-of-29) for Ferris State.

Lavita-Stephens totaled a game-high 23 points which included five three-pointers and a 4-of-4 effort from the foul line.  Brown notched another double-double with 17 points, a game-high 13 rebounds along with a game-best four assists.  Hughes contributed 12 points and a game-high three steals.

No Bulldog reached double figures, but the visitors were led by Branch who had a team-best nine rebounds along with eight points.  Rachel McInerney also tallied eight points, off the bench, for FSU.

Wayne State held a 42-29 edge in rebounding leading to a 20-8 advantage in second-chance points.

Over the last four-plus games (167:13), Wayne State has led for 162:59, trailed for 1:10 and was tied for 2:14 giving WSU the lead 98 percent of the time and being tied for one percent.

The Warriors begin a tough road stretch with six of the next seven games away from Motown starting with a Thursday trip to Hillsdale for a 6 p.m. tip-off.