PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The fifth-ranked Wayne State University women's basketball team (14-1 overall, 10-1 GLIAC) recorded its 10th straight victory with a 69-50 triumph at Lake Erie College (7-10 overall, 2-9 GLIAC) Thursday evening.
 
The Warriors started out a little sluggish and trailed (2-0) and were tied twice (2-2, 4-4) in the opening three minutes.
 
WSU went on a 6-0 run and never lead by fewer than four the rest of the half.  Junior guard Destiny Lavita-Stephens (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Goodrich) hit a triple and split a pair from the foul line before sophomore forward Gabby Machado (Pontiac, Mich. / Northern) scored on a lay-up.
 
The Storm's last made field goal of the first half came with 14:04 on the clock as the Warrior defense shut down the Lake Erie offense forcing LEC into 13 turnovers and shooting 0-for-13 from the field.  The Storm did make 7-of-11 free throws.
 
Meanwhile, Wayne State concluded the first half on a 16-0 run over the final 6:40 as five different Warriors scored led by senior center Shareta Brown (Pontiac, Mich. / Grand Blanc) with six points and Lavita-Stephens chipping in with five points.
 
WSU started the second half by scoring four of the first six points for a 42-19 lead at the 17:01 mark.  Lake Erie responded with an 8-0 run in the next 1:40 highlighted by back-to-back triples by Kayla Gabor and Jackie Murray.
 
The Wayne State advantage remained between 15 and 19 points for the ensuing 4:30 until a three-pointer by junior guard Brittany Streetman (Warren, Mich. / Lincoln) pushed the lead to 19 (55-36).  Senior guard Ondrea Hughes (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Loy Norrix) was fouled on the play and made the first in a one-and-one situation giving the Warriors a 20 point lead.
 
The Storm pulled within 13 on two occasions (57-44 and 63-50), the later coming with 2:36 remaining, but the two foul shots by Chloe Irish would be the final points of the night by Lake Erie.
 
Back-to-back jumpers by Lavita-Stephens and Brown, along with a late lay-up by freshman guard Sara Ruhstorfer (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Flint Powers Catholic) completed the scoring.
 
Wayne State had the edge in points in the paint (34-12), second-chance points (10-4), and points off turnovers (18-14), while Lake Erie led in bench points (25-12).
 
The Warriors shot 47 percent (24-of-51) from the floor while limiting the Storm to 28 percent (15-of-54).  Each team made three triples.  WSU held a 45-27 margin in rebounding, but committed a season-high 29 turnovers.
 
Brown notched her 14th double-double of the campaign with game-high totals of 20 points and 14 rebounds.  She also dished out three assists.

Lavita-Stephens added 13 points and a game-best four steals, while Jackie Jones (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) contributed seven points and four assists.  Machado chipped in with 12 points and three blocked shots.
 
Irish led LEC with 10 points off the bench along with a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Wayne State will play at Ashland on Saturday with tip-off slated for 1 p.m.