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Wayne State University Athletics

Becca Fugate 1K Points vs. Purdue Northwest (1/4/24)
Marissa Krynak
The Warriors celebrated Becca Fugate's 1,000 career points following the victory vs. PNW.
71
Purdue Northwest Pur-NW 6-7,1-2 GLIAC
76
Winner Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 9-3,2-1 GLIAC
Purdue Northwest Pur-NW
6-7,1-2 GLIAC
71
Final
76
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne
9-3,2-1 GLIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Purdue Northwest Pur-NW 11 18 15 27 71
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 12 25 18 21 76

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Fugate Reaches 1,000 Points Milestone in Women's Basketball Win over Purdue Northwest

The Warrior tallied 17 points in her team's 76-71 triumph on Thursday evening.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (9-3 overall, 2-1 GLIAC) won its conference home opener, 76-71, over Purdue Northwest (6-7 overall, 1-2 GLIAC) on Thursday evening inside the Wayne State Fieldhouse.  Redshirt senior guard Becca Fugate (Holly, Mich.) became the 19th Warrior in program history to notch 1,000 career points in the triumph.

Fugate was the first Wayne State women's basketball student-athlete to reach the 1K mark since Nastassja Chambers on February 16, 2019, also at home against PNW.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The opening two minutes were scoreless until  junior guard Alyssa Leister's (St. Louis, Mich. / Alma) three-pointer put the Warriors on the board first 2:05 into the contest.  Sophomore forward Gabi Lutchka's (Grass Lake, Mich.) lay-up extended WSU's lead to 5-0, and the Green and Gold's defense was able to hold Purdue Northwest off the scoreboard for nearly five minutes.  Dash Shaw's jumper with 5:22 left in the first stanza broke the scoring drought for PNW.  The Shaw field goal was the beginning of a 9-0 run for the Pride between the 5:22 and 3:39 marks of the quarter.  The Warriors would rally back to score seven of the final nine points of the period and record a 12-11 edge after 10 minutes.

Second Quarter
After a pair of free throws by Alyssa Barnard gave Purdue Northwest a 13-12 advantage, the Warriors posted a 14-6 run from that point (9:43) up until the second quarter media timeout.  In that stretch, Fugate nailed a triple 55 seconds into the stanza to officially reach the 1K milestone for her five-season collegiate career.  The guard delivered a second triple with 7:20 remaining, which put Wayne State ahead by eight (23-15).  

The Pride would out-score the hosts 10-9 over the final 4:03, but the Warriors would take a 37-29 lead into the break.  Sophomore forward Mackenzie Miller (Schoolcraft, Mich.) made the first basket of her Wayne State career in the final 90 seconds.  Miller was making her Warrior and season debut, while playing in her first college contest since February 21, 2023, for Division III's Lakeland University.

Third Quarter
A Mercedes Simmons lay-up and a triple by Cherrelle Newsom, combined with a WSU scoring drought of over three minutes, closed PNW's deficit to three (37-34).  The Pride would stay close for much of the quarter, but the Warriors began to pull away following a Leister jumper with 2:55 left that put the hosts ahead by nine (51-42) once again.  A pair of made field goals by Miller at the end of the stanza not only helped the Green and Gold out-pace the Pride 18-15 for the 10-minute span, but also helped Wayne State propel itself to a 11-point advantage (55-44) after 30 minutes.

Fourth Quarter
Simmons notched the next four points to make it a seven-point game (55-48), before a Lutchka jumper and a couple of foul shots by freshman guard McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) pushed the Warriors' lead back to double digits.  Simmons did much of the damage in the final period for Purdue Northwest, as the forward totaled 15 of PNW's 27 points in the final 10 minutes.  However, it was not enough as the Warriors held off a late Pride rally to secure the 76-71 victory.  Redshirt senior guard Kate McArthur (Warren, Mich. / Cousino (Central Michigan)) was key down the stretch for WSU at the charity stripe, as the Warrior knocked down six free throws over the final 2:17 to help her team to the win.

TEAM STATS
Purdue Northwest went 23-of-52 (44 percent) from the field, which was slightly better than Wayne State's 26-of-63 (41 percent) from the floor.  WSU made nine of its 25 triple attempts (36 percent), while PNW made just four of its 17 chances (23 percent) from beyond the arc.  Both squads shot well at the free throw line.  The Warriors made 15-of-19 (79 percent), with the Pride hitting 21 of their 25 foul shots (84 percent).  Purdue Northwest had one more rebound than Wayne State (33 to 32), but the Warriors had 12 steals to PNW's five and totaled eight more points off turnovers (23 to 15) than the guests.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Lutchka nabbed a career-best 21 points to lead the team, aided by her trio of made triples.  Fugate scored 17 in her milestone night, while Miller notched an even 10 on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting in her WSU and season debut.  Lutchka led the squad with eight rebounds, while McArthur dished out five assists.  Junior forward Shea Tripp (Jackson, Mich. / Michigan Center) garnered a game-best four steals.

LEADING THE PRIDE
Simmons tallied a game-high 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting (11-of-14 FT), which served as the most points any opponent has scored on WSU this season.  She also had a game-best 10 rebounds for the double-double. Shaw had 15 points and three assists, while Syria Butler collected 10 points.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will host Parkside on Saturday at 1 p.m. from the Wayne State Fieldhouse to conclude the first weekend of home conference action.

 
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