Dec. 7, 2005

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Wayne State (3-4, 1-1) at Hillsdale (7-1, 3-0)
Dec. 10, 2005 - 1 pm
Jesse Philips Arena - Hillsdale, Mich.

• GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State Warriors continue their four-game road trip with a visit to Hillsdale College on Saturday, Dec. 10 for their third straight GLIAC South contest.

WSU enters the day with a 3-4 overall record and a league mark of 1-1 after splitting last weekend's trip to Erie, Pa. The Warriors trail their opponents in season scoring by a total of just five points, 506-501.

Following a week off for finals, Wayne State travels to regional foe Southern Indiana on Dec. 18. Then, WSU, who has played just two games at the Matthaei this season, will return to Detroit for five straight home appearances starting Dec. 30 against Kentucky Wesleyan.

• ON THE BENCH
Wayne State head coach Gloria Bradley has a 70-74 mark in her sixth season at WSU. Bradley is 184-143 in 12 seasons overall. Also returning to the coaching staff is Warrior alum LaTisha Martin who played for WSU from 2000-02. After completing her eligibility, Martin served as a student coach in 2002-03.

Hillsdale's Claudette Charney owns a 42-15 record in her third season with the Chargers. The Grand Valley State alum is 340-193 in her 20th season of collegiate coaching.

• THE SERIES
Wayne State looks to snap a five-game losing streak to the Chargers dating back to February 22, 2003. But in a close historical battle, Wayne State leads Hillsdale, 26-24, in the all-time series.

• IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was selected to place sixth in South Division in the GLIAC coaches' preseason poll. The Chargers were tied with Gannon atop the South standings with 21 points and three first-place votes.

• SCOUTING THE CHARGERS
Hillsdale recorded its fourth straight victory with a 99-51 win over Spring Arbor Tuesday night. Junior guard Jodie Haines, the reigning GLIAC South Division Player of the Week, went over 20 points for the third game in a row, leading all players with 21 points.

The Chargers are out-scoring their opponents by a GLIAC-high average of 22.9 points per game. Their only loss of the season came at Division I Cleveland State (77-54) on Nov. 23. Junior forward Nikki Wustman leads the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg) while shooting 60.3 percent from the floor.

• LAST GAME NOTES
Wayne State was held to just eight points in overtime, all on free throws, and couldn't get the final bounce as Mercyhurst hung on for a 90-89 OT win Saturday afternoon in Erie, Pa.

Junior Ralphanee Peyton had two blocks and a basket in the first two minutes of the game as WSU led 4-2. Tied at four, WSU missed five straight shots on one possession, but pounded the offensive glass and finally got a Nicole Rogers shot to fall. Another Peyton layup put the Warriors up 9-4 with 14:42 on the clock.

Freshman Joy Nash drove the lane and laid it off the glass for a 15-6 lead. The Lakers charged back with a 9-2 run the next 3:08 until Brittany White knocked down a three on a Cherita Smith assist. A pair of steals then led to four Smith points in a row that pushed WSU's lead to 24-15 with 8:41 left.

A Kristen Rogers three-pointer at the 5:15 mark gave Wayne State its largest lead of the first half at 33-20. Mercyhurst answered with a 9-1 run over the next 2:45 and eventually came within one (38-37) before Kristen Rogers nailed a three to give WSU a 41-37 lead at the break.

MC opened the second half on a 14-7 sprint as Cassie Seth's back-to-back three-pointers gave the Lakers their first lead of the game. Mercyhurst held onto its lead for 5:04 until senior Casey Banks converted a three-point play and put the Warriors up by one with 10:37 remaining.

The Lakers regained their lead and increased it to six points before Shatona Clark hit a three with 5:43 to play, cutting the deficit to one at 70-69. Then Kristen Rogers' third three-pointer of the day gave WSU the lead again until another tie at 74 occurred with just over four minutes to play.

Banks scored on a three-point play as she got the friendly bounce and made the foul shot. After two defensive stops, Banks sank another shot for a 79-74 lead with 2:08 left. MC hit a pair of free throws and Laker Katlyn Petit hit a three-pointer for the fifth tie of the half.

Nash made a pair of foul shots, but MC's Jena Schafer hit a jumper in the lane to knot the score at 81. Following a WSU timeout, Clark's final shot didn't fall, sending the game into overtime.

Most of the OT scoring came at the line as the Warriors took an early four-point lead on free throws by Clark and Banks. Then Mercyhurst grabbed a one-point lead back with just under a minute to play until Clark sank two from the line with 43.0 seconds left.

After Stephanie Prischak hit a layup for MC with 27.3 ticks left, Clark missed both free throws. Banks grabbed the rebound, but Nash's last-second three-pointer hit the left side of the rim and bounced out as the Lakers picked up their first win of the season and second straight victory over WSU.

Clark had a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds with Nash scoring a career-best 16 points. Banks, Smith and Kristen Rogers all chipped in with 11 points as the Warriors went 23-of-32 at the line compared to 34-of-42 for the Lakers.