Wright State University
9-15, 5-9HL
Valparaiso
7-17, 4-9HL
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valparaiso | 18 | 33 | 51 |
| Wright State | 27 | 27 | 54 |
Women Hold On for 54-51 Win Over Valparaiso
2/18/2010 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wright State led by 17 with 8:46 remaining, but had to hold off a Valparaiso rally before defeating the Crusaders 54-51 in Horizon League women's basketball action at the Nutter Center Thursday evening.
Valparaiso scored the first four points of the contest, but the Raiders took the lead for good at 7-6 on a LaShawna Thomas three with 16:40 to go in the opening half.
The Crusaders trailed by just three at 21-18 following an Ashley Varner jumper at the 1:21 mark, only to see Wright State score the final six points of the period on two three-pointers, including one by Maria Bennett just ahead of the horn, to put WSU up 27-18 at the break.
The Raiders shot 44 percent in the first half, including five of 11 from behind the arc, while Valparaiso hit for just 32 percent and missed all four of its three-point attempts.
Wright State continued its momentum into the second half, scoring the first seven points to build a 34-18 advantage. The margin was later 46-29 as Molly Fox hit one of two foul shots with 8:46 to play.
Valpo, however, stormed back with a 21-5 run over the next seven minutes, with nine of those points coming from Whitney Farris and seven by Skyler Gick, to trim the deficit to 51-50 at the 1:11 mark.
Neither team, though, would score until Thomas made two free throws with seven seconds remaining to make it 53-50. Gick hit one of two from the line with five seconds to play, but Molly Fox made it a three-point contest with a foul shot with two seconds left and a desperation heave by the Crusaders at the buzzer was short.
WSU shot 47 percent the final 20 minutes to end the night at 46 percent overall, including eight of 17 from three-point range, while Valparaiso was at 35 percent and was just two of eight from behind the arc. The Crusaders, though, held a 33-30 rebounding advantage and hit 13 of 17 foul shots to Wright State's six of 12.
Kanisha Ward led the Raiders with 16 points while Thomas had nine points and seven rebounds.
Farris paced Valparaiso (7-17, 4-9 Horizon) with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds while Gick had 10 off the bench.
Wright State (9-15, 5-9 Horizon) will host the Butler Bulldogs Saturday at 3:00.
