DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (7-5 overall) concluded the 2018 portion of its schedule against Fairmont State (5-7 overall) on Sunday afternoon and the Warriors won their third straight game, 72-65.  With the victory, head coach Carrie Lohr matches Gloria Bradley for the winningest coach in program history (126).

HOW IT HAPPENED
Alex Matus (Millbury, Ohio / Toledo Central Catholic) staked WSU to a 9-5 lead with a triple at the 7:18 mark of the opening quarter.  India Hawkins (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) connected from deep with 2:47 left in the stanza to extend the home advantage to 14-7.  The Fighting Falcons led 16-14 after one quarter of action with a 9-0 run to end the frame.

The visitors lead was 20-16 at the 7:54 point of the second period.  Hawkins brought WSU within two, 20-18, with a layup at the 7:01 mark.  However, FSU would go on a 12-0 run to lead 32-18 with 3:46 to play before intermission.  A conventional three-point play from Nastassja Chambers (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Arbor Prep) cut the deficit to 32-26 with 1:35 remaining.  The Falcons would extended their lead to 37-27 on a Brooke Kurucz jumper at the 38 second mark.  Wayne State trailed 37-29 at halftime.

The Warriors opened the second half on a 4-0 run to trim the margin to 37-33.  Ja'Nae Williams (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) converted an old fashioned three-point play at the eight-minute mark to bring WSU within three, 39-36.  Grace George (DeWitt, Mich.) tied the game on the following possession with a trey from the top of the key.  Four straight points from Tori Perez (Belleville, Mich.) gave WSU a 43-41 lead at the 5:26 mark of the third quarter.  Another conventional three-point play by Chambers pushed the home advantage to 46-41 with 4:50 to play.  Perez made a free throw to complete a three-point play at the 1:57 mark to give the Warriors a 49-45 lead.  WSU led 52-45 after three quarters as the Wayne State defense held Fairmont State to just one field goal in
the stanza.

The fourth period started with a fast break bucket from Williams to make it 54-45.  A steal and and a layup from Alexis Miller (Howell, Mich.) made it 61-53 at the 5:27 mark and forced Fairmont State to take a timeout and slow WSU's momentum.  The Falcons trimmed the lead to 61-59 with 2:40 left to play on a 10-foot jump shot by Kurucz.  A driving runner from Hawkins at the 1:25 mark gave WSU a 65-60 advantage.  Lohr called a timeout with 42.7 seconds left to play and WSU leading 65-63.  An offensive rebound by Chambers led to two points at the charity stripe for the junior guard, pushing the home lead to 67-63.  FSU found room underneath for a layup to make it 67-65.  Williams was fouled on the inbounds and made one of two free throws at the other end giving WSU a 68-65 lead with 21.8 seconds remaining.  A blocked shot by George gave the Green & Gold the ball back and Williams connected on both freebies this time to give the Warriors a 70-65 lead.  Wayne State would sink two more free throws to win 72-65.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Williams and Chambers both finished with a team-high 16 points, while Williams notched her fifth double-double of the season as she pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.  Hawkins chipped in 11 points, while Perez tallied 10.

LEADING THE FIGHTING FALCONS
Kurucz posted a game-high 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting, while Weimer and Rachel Laskody each scored 13 points and Sierra Kotchman finished with 11.

TEAM STATS
Fairmont State held a 43 percent (23-of-54) to 39 percent (22-of-57) edge in field goal shooting, but the Warriors were 24-of-31 (77 percent) from the charity stripe compared to 14-of-20 (70 percent) for the Fighting Falcons.  WSU had a 47-25 margin in rebounding which led to a 15-4 edge in second-chance points.  Wayne State also led in bench scoring, 38-2.

UP NEXT
WSU will return to GLIAC play on Jan. 3rd when the Northern Michigan Wildcats visit the Matthaei.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and can be seen on Comcast CN 900.