Wright State University
14-15, 10-8HL
UIC
14-15, 8-10HL
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| UIC | 25 | 23 | 48 |
| Wright State | 27 | 22 | 49 |
Ward Three Lifts Women to 49-48 Win Over UIC
3/7/2009 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
A Kanisha Ward three with 4.8 seconds left gave the Wright State women's basketball team a thrilling 49-48 come-from-behind victory over the UIC Flames in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at the Nutter Center.
UIC scored the first six points of the contest and extended the margin to 19-10 following a Meghan Hutchens jumper with 10:59 remaining in the first half, but WSU followed with a 10-2 run, seven coming from Ta-myra Davis, to cut the deficit to one. The Flames went back up three twice before the Raiders scored the final five points to take a 27-25 halftime lead, including three more from Davis.
UIC shot 43 percent in the first half compared to 39 percent for Wright State, but the Raiders had a 9-2 advantage in second-chance points thanks to a 20-16 rebounding edge, including 7-3 on the offensive end.
A LaShawna Thomas three-point play and back-to-back baskets from Tatianna Hall foul shots with 13:47 to play.
Wright State, though, would go the next 8:31 without scoring as the Flames tallied the next 15 points, five by Shameia Green, and after a Davis foul shot broke the drought, two free throws from Green gave UIC a 45-39 lead with 4:26 left.
The Raiders regained the lead with seven straight points, capped off by a Maria Bennett three from the left wing with 1:02 remaining, only to see the Flames to back in front 48-46 at the 26.2-second mark on a bank shot by Ashley Hluska and Bailey hitting the second of two foul shots.
That set the stage for the game-winner as Molly Fox found Ward at the right elbow and the junior guard knocked down the triple for her only points of the game. UIC had one last chance, but could not get a shot off in time.
Both teams shot 38 percent for the game with the Raiders hitting three of 15 three-pointers compared to two of eight for UIC. The Flames were 10 of 15 at the line while Wright State was eight of 13. WSU held a slight 35-32 rebounding advantage and led in points in the paint (24-12) and second-chance points (13-8).
Davis led all scorers with 13 for the Raiders and added seven rebounds while Thomas had 11 points and Fox eight. Bennett chipped in eight of the bench and Tatianna Hall six as the WSU reserves outscored the Flame bench 17-9.
Bailey paced UIC (14-15, 8-10 Horizon) with 11 points and had seven rebounds while Green had 10 and Hutchens and Ashley Hluska eight each.
Wright State (14-15, 10-8 Horizon) now turns its attention to next week's Horizon League Tournament. The Raiders, who are the #5 seed, will visit #4 Valparaiso (16-13, 10-8 Horizon) in quarterfinal action on Wednesday, March 11, at 8:00 Eastern time. The two teams split during the regular season, with WSU winning 54-44 in Dayton on January 8 and the Crusaders taking a 64-58 home decision on February 8.
