Western Wayne Today

The Wayne State University women's basketball team secured a victory against Davenport University with a decisive 84-61 win on Saturday at the Wayne State Fieldhouse. The game marked the Warriors' 15th win of the season, improving their record to 8-5 in the GLIAC conference.

Wayne State's success was largely due to a strong fourth-quarter performance, where they outscored Davenport 30-16. This surge allowed them to pull away after maintaining a lead for most of the game.

In the first quarter, Davenport briefly led with lay-ups from Lillee Gustafson and Jaci Walker. However, Wayne State responded with an eight-point run and maintained control for the remainder of the match. Key contributions came from Alyssa Leister, Gabi Lutchka, and Kate McArthur during this period.

The second quarter saw McArthur extend Wayne State's lead with a three-pointer early on. Despite efforts from Davenport to close the gap, Wayne State held onto their advantage, ending the half with a ten-point contribution each from Becca Fugate and Shea Tripp.

Davenport showed resilience in the third quarter by outscoring Wayne State 20-16. Walker's three-pointer brought them within five points late in the quarter. Nevertheless, Wayne State regained momentum towards the end of this period.

The final quarter confirmed Wayne State's dominance as they widened their lead significantly after Isabel Lindo's play brought Davenport within six points. Fugate contributed two critical three-pointers during an 8-0 run that solidified their lead.

Wayne State ended up shooting 51 percent from the field compared to Davenport's 49 percent. They also excelled in rebounds (36-25) and steals (14-1), which were crucial factors in their victory.

Becca Fugate led all scorers with 22 points, including five three-pointers. Shea Tripp added 18 points while Taylor Thompson nearly achieved her first career double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Ellie Toney was notable for Davenport with a team-high of 21 points but lacked sufficient support as she was their only player scoring in double figures.

Looking ahead, Wayne State will face Ferris State on February 15 at Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids as part of two upcoming road games next week.