Wright State University
8-2
UC Irvine
1-11
Women Rout UC Irvine at BTI Invitational
12/20/2014 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Wright State women's basketball team closed out the first half with a 27-11 run and then outscored UC Irvine 39-17 in the second half in rolling to an 80-42 decision over the Anteaters Saturday afternoon at the BTI Invitational in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The Raiders scored the first seven points of the game, only to see UC Irvine answer with a 12-4 run to take its first lead of the contest at 12-11 with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. A Tay'ler Mingo jumper and a Ciara Patterson three put WSU in front for good at 19-14 and a later Breanna Stucke three pushed the margin into double figures at 28-16.
Wright State maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the period and led 41-25 at the break as Mingo connected on a jumper just ahead of the buzzer.
WSU had just a slight shooting edge in the first half as the Raiders shot 44 percent compared to 42 percent for the Anteaters, but Wright State held a 13-2 advantage in points off of turnovers as they forced 15 while committing five.
The Raiders gradually built on the lead in the second half, with the final margin being the largest advantage of the game.
WSU shot 39 percent overall and was 24 of 31 from the foul line while UC Irvine shot 29 percent and was six of 11 from the stripe. The Raiders led 32-16 in points in the paint, 22-5 in points off of turnovers and 21-6 in second-chance points.
Mingo led all scorers with 22 points for Wright State and added six assists and six steals while Stucke tied a career-high with four three-pointers in scoring a season-high 16 points. Lexi Smith posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Wright State (8-2) faces host Purdue for the BTI Invitational title Sunday at 2:30.
