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 Brittany White had the game-clinching steal Thursday night. |
Feb. 9, 2006
DETROIT - Brittany White's (Chicago, Ill.) steal and free throw sealed a 65-63 win for the Wayne State women's basketball team (8-13, 5-8 GLIAC) against visiting Mercyhurst College (7-16, 3-10 GLIAC) Thursday night at the Matthaei.
The Lakers scored 10 of the game's first 12 points before junior Bethany Mesko (Traverse City, Mich.) had a pair of buckets for WSU. Then a sharp pass from senior Kristen Rogers (Lansing, Mich.) to sister Nicole Rogers (Lansing, Mich.) under the basket brought the Warriors within four at 15-11 with 11:52 left in the first half. The sisters combined on a steal a minute later that eventually led to a three-pointer by the younger Rogers that made it a one-point game.
A second-chance basket by Cherita Smith (Grand Rapids, Mich.) gave WSU its first lead of the game with just under 10 minutes to play in the half. After an MC field goal, White drained a three.
Wayne State took a three-point lead on freshman Chastidy Miller's (White Lake, Mich.) layup, but Mercyhurst tied the game with one shot. After a Smith bucket, the Lakers hit another three-pointer and completed a three-point play to grab a four-point lead with 3:01 before the half.
Smith's three-pointer with 25.2 seconds left brought the Warriors within two at 36-32, and that's where it stood at the break.
MC jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the second half, but Smith headed up a Warrior comeback with two baskets and a pair of steals. WSU's eight-point run was capped off by Mesko's bounce-pass assist to Nicole Rogers that gave Wayne State a 42-41 lead.
The Warriors scored just three free throws over the next five minutes as the Lakers responded with a 9-3 run. Then five straight WSU points got the Warriors within one with 12:04 to play.
After two free throws by Kristen Rogers, Mesko stole the inbound pass and hit a go-ahead jumper. The Warriors scored their 20th point off a Laker turnover on a pull-up jumper by Jessica Howard (West Bloomfield, Mich.) with 8:26 left in the game.
Mercyhurst came back to go up by two, but a Kristen Rogers baseline jumper put WSU up 62-61 with 2:42 to play. The game went over a minute without either team scoring until the Lakers hit a jumper as the shot clock expired. A foul shot by Kristen Rogers tied the game at 63.
The Warriors pressured MC and Smith picked up her fourth steal of the night and connected on a free throw with 31.2 ticks on the clock. Mercyhurst looked like it was going to get an open shot off with 16 seconds left when White came through the lane to intercept a pass in the paint. She was immediately fouled and made one from the line to seal the win.
Nicole Rogers finished with 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Smith scored 15 and had a career-high nine boards on the night.
Wayne State hosts Gannon on Saturday (1 p.m.) in a battle for third place in the GLIAC South.
