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 Monique George scored 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Warriors. |
Jan. 2, 2007
Edwardsville, Ill. - The Wayne State women's basketball team (4-8 overall) committed 13 turnovers which Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (8-2 overall) turned into 25 points, in a 84-68 loss to the Cougars at the Vadalabene Center on Friday.
Wayne State took the first lead of the game on baskets by Senior Cherita Smith (Grand Rapids/Union) and Sophomore Joy Nash (Muskegon), however Southern Illinois shot 9 of 11 from the field to open the first half, and after some made free throws, opened up a 9 point lead at 23-14, with 11:26 left in the half.
Three quick baskets and a blocked shot by Sophomore Monique George (Detroit/Cass Tech) lead a 15-2 run by the Warriors, put Wayne on top 29-25 with 6:05 remaining in the half. Nash, Junior Brittany White (Chicago/Morgan Park), and Sophomore Chastidy Miller (White Lake/Waterford Kettering) all scored baskets to contribute to the run.
The Cougars though would counter with a run of their own, closing out the opening half with a 14-5 run to take a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
Wayne State closed out the half shooting 45% from the field (15-33), while connecting on 50% from beyond the arch (4-8), while allowing SIUE to 42% and only 1 of 11 from 3-point range. The difference in the first half was Southern Illinois shot 8 of 13 from the free throw line, while Wayne State did not get to the line once.
Southern Illinois came out in the second half much like they did in the first, building their lead to 13 at 52-39. Baskets by Nash and Freshman Rebecca Meyer (Brighton) though cut the lead back to 9.
After trading baskets over the next 7 minutes of the game, consecutive 3-pointers by the Cougars put them up by 15 at 66-51, with 9:05 remaining in the game.
Wayne State came back though, as 4 quick points by Nash sparked a 13-2 run by the Warriors to bring them back within 5 at 69-64. White and Meyer also had baskets during the run, while Smith, George, and Miller all made key free throws.
That would be as close as Wayne State would come to Southern Illinois though, as the Cougars connected on 7 of 9 free throws down the stretch to close out the game.
Nash led the way for Wayne State on the evening, scoring 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting. Freshman Brooke Bowers (Delphos, Ohio/Jefferson) added 12, and George came off the bench to score 12, while grabbing 10 rebounds in 16 minutes of play.
