Wright State University
25-8
Youngstown State (Semifinals)
15-16
Women Roll Over Youngstown State in HL Semifinals
3/14/2014 4:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
For the first time since 2008, the Wright State women's basketball team will play in the Horizon League Championship game as the Raiders jumped out to a 53-25 halftime lead in rolling to a 98-70 decision over Youngstown State in the semifinals Friday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The Penguins scored the opening two points of the night, but that turned out to be the only lead of the game for YSU as the Raiders followed by scoring the next 12 points to go in front for good, seven of those coming from Tay'ler Mingo. Youngstown State responded with six straight to cut the margin to four, only to see WSU with eight in a row, including four more by Mingo, to take a 20-8 advantage with 12:24 remaining in the first half.
An 11-0 run extended the Wright State lead to 45-19 at the 2:32 mark and the Raiders later pushed the margin to 53-21 before going into halftime up 53-25.
WSU shot 48 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including three of 10 from three-point range, while YSU shot 27 percent overall and missed all 12 of its three-point attempts. The Raiders also forced 13 turnovers while committing three, resulting in a 15-1 differential in points off of turnovers.
Wright State maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way, going up as much as 85-46 on a Demmings fast-break layup with 10:47 to play.
The 98 points by the Raiders tied a Horizon League Tournament record, originally set by Detroit against Milwaukee in 1997 and their 39 field goals also tied a league tournament record, originally set by Xavier against Butler in 1992.
WSU shot 47 percent for the game and was 16 of 23 at the line while YSU shot 34 percent and was 20 of 29 at the stripe. The Raiders led in points in the paint (62-34), points off of turnovers (26-9), second-chance points (23-20) and fast-break points (28-0).
Mingo tied a career-high wtih 26 points, 19 of those coming in the first half, and added five assists, four rebounds and three steals. The junior guard also had 26 points against James Madison at the Gulf Coast Showcase on December 1.
Demmings added 26 points and five assists while Ivory James (12 points, 14 rebounds) and Tayler Stanton (12 points, 11 boards) each posted double-doubles. KC Elkins chipped in 10 points as all five Raider starters scored in double figures.
Heidi Schlegel paced Youngstown State (15-16) with 20 points while Melissa Thompson had 13 and Karen Flagg nine along with 11 rebounds.
Wright State (25-8), which set a school record for wins in a season with the victory, will play for its first league title ever on Sunday at 1:00 Eastern against Green Bay, a 68-59 winner in the other semifinal, at the Kress Events Center in Green Bay, a game that will be televised live on ESPNU. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
