The Wayne State University women's basketball team faced a defeat against Northern Michigan on Saturday. The game, held at the Wayne State Fieldhouse, ended with a score of 80-74 in favor of Northern Michigan. This match marked the end of the regular season for Wayne State, which now holds an overall record of 16-10 and a conference record of 9-8 in the GLIAC.
Before the game began, Wayne State honored its redshirt senior guards Becca Fugate and Kate McArthur as part of Senior Day celebrations.
In the first quarter, Northern Michigan started strong with an 8-2 run led by Jacy Weisbrod and CJ Romero. They maintained their lead throughout most of the quarter. However, Wayne State managed to reduce their deficit slightly before the quarter ended.
The second quarter saw Wayne State closing in on Northern Michigan's lead with a strong push that brought them within four points. Sophomore forward Gabi Lutchka contributed significantly during this period. Despite this effort, Northern Michigan regained momentum to secure a six-point lead by halftime.
Wayne State showed resilience in the third quarter by tying the game and eventually taking their first lead after two minutes into the second half. They outscored Northern Michigan 29-18 in this high-scoring quarter.
During the fourth quarter, Wayne State held onto a seven-point lead twice but could not maintain it as Northern Michigan responded with an 11-0 run to take control again. The Wildcats' defense limited Wayne State's scoring opportunities towards the end of the game.
Statistically, both teams had similar shooting percentages from the floor. However, Northern Michigan excelled from beyond the arc and capitalized on turnovers more effectively than Wayne State did.
For Wayne State, Lutchka led with 19 points while Shea Tripp added 18 points along with a notable performance on rebounds and assists. On Northern Michigan's side, Makaylee Kuhn was prominent with 24 points followed closely by Weisbrod who scored six three-pointers among her total contributions.
Wayne State will conclude its regular season next Saturday against Saginaw Valley State at University Center, Mich., with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m.
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