Wright State University
11-18
Youngstown State (First Round)
0-30
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youngstown State | 21 | 22 | 43 |
| Wright State | 29 | 32 | 61 |
3/8/2010 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wright State led by just four with two minutes remaining in the first half, but followed with a 22-2 run to break the game open as the #7 seeded Raiders defeated the #10 seeded Youngstown State Penguins 61-43 in the first round of the 2010 Speedway Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship at the Nutter Center Monday night.
The Penguins went up 13-12 on two Macey Nortey foul shots with 12:38 remaining in the first half, but the Raiders responded with a 12-4 burst, half coming from LaShawna Thomas, to take a 24-17 advantage at the 3:22 mark.
YSU closed to within four at 25-21 following a Nortey layup with 1:50 left before WSU started its decisive 22-2 run on a pair of Erica Richardson baskets to take a 29-21 halftime lead.
The Raiders shot 46 percent in the first half compared to just 26 percent for the Penguins, but Youngstown State hit 10 of 15 foul shots while Wright State was only four of six.
The run continued into the second half for WSU as after a Brandi Brown jumper for Youngstown State in the opening minute, the Raiders scored 18 straight, a run that saw six players contribute, to extend the margin to 49-25 with 11:08 to play. YSU would get no closer than 18 the rest of the way.
Wright State hit 11 of 20 shots the final 20 minutes to end the game at 50 percent overall while the Penguins shot 38 percent in the second half to finish at 33 percent. The Raiders outrebounded Youngstown State 39-18, including 12-6 on the offensive glass, and led 36-14 in points in the paint, 16-12 in points off of turnovers and 7-2 in second-chance points.
Thomas, who was selected as the U.S. Army Player of the Game, led all scorers with 20 points. She also became the 17th Raider to reach the 1000-point plateau for her career as she now has 1017 in 85 games. Richardson added 10 while Tanni Scott scored a career-high nine off the bench. In all, the WSU bench outscored the Penguin reserves 23-12.
Kenya Middlebrooks paced Youngstown State (0-30) with eight points while three others had seven each.
Wright State (11-18) now advances to the quarterfinals against the #2 seed Butler Bulldogs for a 7:00 matchup Wednesday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
