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 Nicole Rogers led the Warriors with 15 points and eight rebounds. |
Nov. 18, 2005
WHEELING, W.V. - The Wayne State women's basketball team earned its first victory of the season on Friday, defeating West Liberty State College, 79-74, in the first game of the Tip-Off Classic, hosted by Wheeling Jesuit University.
The Warriors had five double-digit scorers in the game, led by Nicole Rogers (Lansing, Mich./Everett), who had 15 points to go with eight rebounds and two assists.
Wayne State started strong out of the gates, as Pam Wingate (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup) made a layup and foul shot for a three point play to begin the scoring. Cherita Smith (Grand Rapids, Mich./Union) finished off a fast break on the next Warrior possession with a field goal, forcing the Hilltoppers to take a timeout just 36 seconds into the game.
Following a WLSC turnover, Shatona Clark (Detroit, Mich./Cody) found Wingate under the basket for a layup to give WSU a 7-0 lead.
West Liberty State turned things around with strong perimeter shooting, led by Renee Farina, who made a three-pointer to give WLSC its first lead of the game, 14-12, with under 15 minutes to go in the half.
The Warriors continued to play tough defense, as the Hilltoppers were called for a shot clock violation at 13:41. WLSC made a strong run midway through the half, however, as it led by as many as 12 until the Warriors began to chip away at the deficit.
Smith came up with a steal on a WLSC possession and took it the length of the court for a layup, pulling Wayne State within six, 35-29, with 4:50 remaining in the half.
Following two field goals by Nicole Rogers and a three-pointer by Clark, the score was 42-38 in favor of West Liberty State with less than two minutes until halftime.
The Warriors caused another shot clock violation on the Hilltoppers, but could not score on the last possession of the half, sending the teams to the locker room with West Liberty State leading 42-38.
Wayne State was shooting 54.8 percent (17-31) in the first half, while West Liberty State shot 48.1 percent (13-27). However, the Hilltoppers made seven of their 13 three-point attempts, while the Warriors made just one of four attempts.
Smith opened the scoring in the second half with a field goal just inside the top of the key, narrowing WLSC's lead to 42-40. A pair of field goals by Monique George (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) gave the Warriors a 48-47 lead at the 12:27 mark.
Wayne State then went on a 12-6 run until West Liberty State scored on its next two possessions, with a three-pointer by Farina and a field goal by Leighann Fry, to narrow the Warriors' lead to 60-58 with 5:07 left.
WLSC reclaimed the lead, 61-60, and Farina continued to shoot well from the outside, making two more three-pointers. The Warriors persisted, however, and took the lead back when Nicole Rogers hit a jumper to make the score 68-67 with 2:28 remaining.
Wayne State scored on back-to-back possessions with field goals by Nicole Rogers and Chastidy Miller (White Lake, Mich./Waterford Kettering), and after each team made a pair of free throws, Wayne State was in the lead, 74-69, with 1:21 left.
Farina and WLSC would not go quietly, however, as she hit another shot from three-point land to narrow WSU's lead to 75-74 with just 52.9 left. The Warriors were able to run down the clock on their next possession, as Nicole Rogers made a layup with one second remaining on the shot clock, and sunk a pair of free throws on WSU's next possession to keep the Warriors in front, 79-74, at the final horn.
Wayne State had a field-goal percentage of 44.9 (31-69) to West Liberty State's 41.1 (23-56). The Warriors also outrebounded the Hilltoppers, 42-36.
Charity Street led WLSC with 19 points, while Farina finished with 18 points on six three-pointers.
Joy Nash (Muskegon, Mich.) had 12 points and seven assists for the Warriors, and Wingate recorded 11 points and seven rebounds. Clark and Smith each had 14 points.
Wayne State will meet host Wheeling Jesuit on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
