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 Joy Nash had a team-high 17 points against Ashland. |
Feb. 3, 2007
DETROIT - The Wayne State University women's basketball team (9-13 overall, 7-5 GLIAC) let a 13-point second half lead evaporate in falling to visiting Ashland University (11-12 overall, 5-9 GLIAC), 70-67, Saturday afternoon at the Matthaei.
The Warriors scored on their first two possessions of the game, a jumper by sophomore guard Joy Nash (Muskegon, Mich.) and a lay-up by junior Nicole Rogers (Lansing, Mich./Everett) for a 4-0 lead. The WSU advantage was between two and six until a Nash lay-up at the 11:20 mark gave the hosts a 15-8 lead.
Two possessions later, Nash hit another jumper and followed that with a triple 23 seconds later for a 20-8 Warrior lead. Four foul shots by AU's Amber Rall were offset by a three-pointer by Rogers. The WSU advantage increased to 16 (30-14) at the 4:57 mark on a Nash lay-up.
The Eagles outscored the Warriors 13-6 the rest of the way before intermission to close the gap to nine points at 36-27. In the first half, WSU had eight turnovers to 15 for AU.
Ashland made the first run of the second half cutting the Warrior lead to seven at 44-37 with 17:24 left. Wayne State responded with back-to-back three pointers by freshman Brooke Bowers (Delphos, Ohio/Jefferson) for a 13 point lead. After Bowers' second triple, WSU did not score again until the 10:04 mark (a scoreless span of 6:20) on a lay-up by senior Ralphanee Peyton (Detroit, Mich./Cody) after the Eagles had cut the WSU lead to one.
Wayne State answered with four more consecutive points following Peyton's hoop, on two free throws by Bowers and a Rogers lay-up. After Ashland made it a two point game at 57-55, the Warriors scored five straight on a triple by sophomore Chastidy Miller (White Lake, Mich./Waterford Kettering) and two foul shots by Nash.
The teams traded points with another two foul shots by Nash giving WSU a 66-59 advantage with 2:41 left. A Catherine Portyrata lay-up and two foul shots by Lani Edmonds made it a three-point game. Following a Wayne State turnover, Portyrata scored inside the paint again capping a 6-0 AU run.
Peyton made the first of a one-and-one with 25 seconds left, but didn't get the chance for the second due to a teammate's lane violation. Ten seconds later, another Portyrata lay-up tied the game at 67. WSU came down court and Bowers driving lay-up with eight seconds left did not fall, and Rall hit a three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left on a two-on-one fast break giving Ashland its third consecutive win in Detroit. Rall entered the week third in the nation in scoring at 23.1 points per game.
Nash led four Warriors in double figures with 17 points, while Rall had a game-high 22 points followed by Portyrata with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Rogers had a double-double for WSU with 14 points and 10 rebounds, with Bowers (14 points) and Miller (11 points) also scoring in double figures for the hosts.
Wayne State plays three of its final five regular season games on the road starting Thursday at Mercyhurst (6 p.m.). WSU's magic number for a GLIAC tournament berth is two (combination of WSU wins and Ashland losses). The Warriors trail Hillsdale by two games and second place in the GLIAC South Division.
Notes:
WSU attempted a season-high 23 three-point shots.
The Warriors had their highest free throw percentage (82.4/14-17) for a game this season.
Wayne State only allowed 44 field goal attempts to Ashland, the second lowest total for an opponent this year, one more than Findlay had on Thursday night.
The 31 opponent rebounds allowed by WSU is the second lowest opponent total this season.
Joy Nash was six-for-six from the foul line and scored in double figures for the 15th time in 34 career games.
Freshman Rebecca Meyer had a career-high two steals.
Chastidy Miller scored in double figures for the 28th time in 47 games.
Freshman Brooke Bowers has scored in double figures in five straight games, a career-best, and 12 times this season.
Nicole Rogers had 10 rebounds, the ninth time she reached double-digits in rebounds in her WSU career. She also scored in double figures for the 19th time.
