Detroit, Valparaiso and UIC used big second half runs on Saturday to win in women’s basketball.
Detroit trailed on the road at Milwaukee by four at halftime, but outscored the Panthers 38-20 in the second half to get the win. Valparaiso was down one at Butler at halftime, but the Crusaders scored the first 10 points of the second half and never looked back in collecting the win, while UIC outscored Cleveland State by 15 in the second half to break open what was a close game throughout the first half.
In the League’s other two games on Saturday, #9/9 Green Bay rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 64-59 victory over Wright State and Loyola held off Youngstown State 78-73, as the Ramblers scored six of the final seven points of the game after the score was tied at 72 with 1:00 remaining.
Detroit 62, Milwaukee 48
The Titan women's basketball team battled more than the Panthers of Milwaukee on Saturday, they battled the demons of a “Let Down”, but Detroit was able to overcome that and a 12-point first-half deficit as the red, white and blue stormed past UWM, 62-48, at the Klotsche Center.
The win was the fifth-straight for UDM – tying a season-high - as the Titans moved to 14-11, 10-3 in the Horizon League, where they sit alone in second place.
The victory coupled with losses by Cleveland State and Youngstown State also assured that Detroit can finish no lower than sixth in the standings, which means it has a bye in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament.Freshman Shareta Brown had a game-high 23 points – 21 in the second half – and eight rebounds to lead the comeback. Junior Yar Shayok had 10 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Senee Shearer totaled nine points and tied her season high with six boards.
The Titans opened the game on a bit of a lull missing nine of their first 12 shots and committing six turnovers in the first 11 minutes as the Panthers took a 14-6 lead.
Milwaukee (6-17, 2-10 HL) would increase its lead to as many as 12, 25-13, with 5:19 left in the half, when the Titans began to chip away.
Senior Jalesa Jones began the spurt with a free throw and then sophomore Megan Hatter a pair of her own. After a Panthers' trey made is 28-16 with 3:40 remaining in the half, the red, white and blue ended the period by scoring eight-straight points. Shayok had four in the run, while Shearer and junior Demeisha Fambro added a basket apiece.
The run continued in the second half as back-to-back baskets by Brown sandwiched around a Milwaukee bucket had UDM within two. Detroit would keeping fighting and push its run to 15-2 and eventually take a 31-30 lead at the 16:49 mark.
Milwaukee jumped back in front with a basket and it was 35-31 Panthers with 14:57 left when the Titans went on a 15-2 spurt over the next six minutes to take 46-37 advantage and a lead it would never relinquish. Brown was the main catalyst in the spurt as she had 10 of Detroit's first 12 points in the second half.
The Panthers cut it to seven with a bucket, but the Titans never let them or the home crowd back in the game, running its lead to double digits for the final 6:58.
Jones ended the game with five points and five assists, while senior Lauren Allen tallied four points, five rebounds and five assists. Hatter also played well, keeping UDM in the game in the first half and finishing with seven points and six rebounds.
Detroit shot 45.1% for the game and 58.3% in the second half hitting 14-of-24 from the field. The Titans also took advantage at the free throw line hitting 15-of-19 and outrebounded UWM, 22-10, in the second half.
The defense also held Milwaukee to just 7-of-28 from the field in the second stanza and forced the Panthers into 20 turnovers on the day.
Detroit will conclude its three-game road swing by visiting Wright State on Thursday. Milwaukee goes on the road, playing at Youngstown State on Thursday.
Green Bay 64, Wright State 59
Senior Julie Wojta had a record day while leading the No. 9/9 Green Bay (21-1, 11-1 HL) women’s basketball team to a 64-59 win over Wright State (16-9, 9-4 HL) Saturday at the Kress Events Center. Wojta had a career-high 30 points, 20 rebounds, four blocks while matching a career-high 40 minutes of play as the Phoenix began a new winning streak.
Wojta also set Kress Center records in rebounds and steals (8) while tying the blocks record.
At the 17:21 mark in the opening half, Wright State’s Molly Fox hit a layup down low for the 4-2 lead. After a pair of free throws from Megan Lukan to tie it up, Ritchie drained a three from the right wing, giving the Phoenix the 7-4 advantage.
With 13:46 to play in the first half, junior Sarah Eichler returned to action after missing Green Bay’s recent game against Detroit due to an ankle sprain suffered in practice earlier in the week.Green Bay took the 15-14 lead off a layup from Shaunda Sandifer with 9:34 to play in the opening half before Wojta scored the next 11 points which included two three pointers. Following a three from the Raiders’ KC Elkins to cut Green Bay’s lead to two (25-23) with 6:17 on the clock, the Phoenix went on a 9-0 run, building its lead to as many as 11 with 3:16 to play in the first half.
Wright State closed the half with a 6-0 run to make it a five-point game at the half (39-24), in favor of the Phoenix.
Wojta was dominant in the first half, leading all players with 17 points and six rebounds, including two three pointers. As a team, Green Bay shot 39 percent from the field, going 13-for-33 while shooting 27 percent from three-point range going 5-for-18. There were three lead changes in the opening half of play as the Phoenix converted 10 points in the paint and scored 17 off Wright State’s 11 turnovers.
Wright State outscored Green Bay 6-5 in the opening five minutes of the second half before Eichler drained a three from the left corner to boost the Phoenix lead to 42-35. The Raiders Courtney Boyd sank a three from the left wing, making it a four-point game (44-40) before Wojta answered with her third three of the contest following a Raiders’ timeout.
With 11:47 remaining, Wojta had a huge block, erupting the 3,447 fans in attendance with cheers before converting a jumper on the offensive end to boost the Phoenix lead to nine (52-43).
Junior Lydia Bauer sank her lone three of the contest with 7:48 to play, giving Green Bay the 10-point advantage (55-45) with 7:48 remaining. Two possessions later, Wojta grabbed the ball from Wright State, made an acrobatic pass to Ritchie who finished with a saving pass to Bauer for the layup.
Wojta grabbed another steal with 5:33 to play and found Lukan for the layup and its largest lead of the contest, a 12-point advantage (59-47). The Raiders came as close as eight with 1:06 to play following a layup from Fox who led the Raiders with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
In the final half, Wojta had a double-double performance with 13 points and 14 rebounds while grabbing five steals. The senior captain finished the game shooting 11-of-20 from the field and 3-for-5 from three point range.
As a team, Green Bay finished the contest shooting 34 percent from the field (23-67) and 25 percent from three point range (8-31). Lukan scored in double figures for the Phoenix chipping in 12 points while playing a career-high 38 minutes.
Green Bay goes on the road next week traveling to Northeast Ohio to take on Cleveland State on Thursday. Wright State returns home and hosts Detroit on Saturday.
Loyola 78, Youngstown State 73
Troy Hambric scored 20 points and Katie Kortekamp had a pivotal blocked shot and hit four free throws in the final minute as Loyola (11-13, 6-7) earned a key Horizon League win with a 78-73 win over Youngstown State (10-14, 4-9) this afternoon at Gentile Arena.
Both teams got off to a solid start offensively and Patrice King capped a 10-0 run with a pair of free throws to give the Ramblers an early 16-8 lead. Youngstown State managed to stem the tide and the Penguins battled back by using the three-point shot, burying three consecutive treys in an 11-0 spurt that gave them a 23-19 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the half. Loyola regained the lead on a Hambric basket at the 3:01 mark and led by as many as five before settling for a 36-33 lead at halftime. Hambric was terrific in the opening half, knocking down all six of her shots and scoring 14 points in the period.
King fed Hambric for a fast break bucket early in the second half to give LU a four-point lead but Brandi Brown knocked down back-to-back treys to give YSU the lead back. Loyola ripped off the next eight points to build a 46-40 lead but, again, the Penguins dialed long distance, knocking down three treys in an 11-0 response that put the visitors back on top (51-46) with just under 15 minutes to go.
Five different Ramblers scored in an 11-0 spurt of their own that put Loyola back up by six but YSU was able to battle back, pulling even at 62 on a Brown jumper. Kenya Middlebrooks knocked down another triple to put the Penguins ahead but a pull-up from King gave LU a 68-67 lead to set up a frantic finish. A steal and layup from Kortekamp bumped the lead to three but the Penguins pulled even again, knocking down their 16th three-pointer of the game to tie it at 72 with 1:24 left.
Simone Law hit a pair from the line after hard work on the offensive glass to give Loyola a 74-72 lead with 1:00 to play and Kortekamp came up with a huge play on the ensuing Youngstown State possession, blocking Middlebrooks' three-point attempt and hitting two free throws of her own to make it a 76-72 game with 29 seconds to play. After a YSU free throw, Kortekamp calmly swished two more from the stripe to seal the win.
Hambric finished the game 8-of-10 from the floor for her 20 points. She was joined in double figures by Lyndsey Booker (career-high 14 points), King (12) and Law (12).
Loyola hits the road next week for a pair of games beginning with a Thursday night clash at Butler. Youngstown State is back in action Thursday, hosting Milwaukee.
UIC 72, Cleveland State 50
Seniors Jasmine Bailey and Shamiea Green made history as they became UIC’s highest scoring duo with 18 and 16 points, respectively, in a 72-50 win over Cleveland State on Saturday afternoon inside the Flames Athletic Center. The tandem surpassed LaShonda Grant (2003-06) and Chrissy Dizon (2002-06) in the first half, needing just 16 points to eclipse the old mark of 2,635 combined points. Bailey now has 1,423 career points which ranks seventh all-time in program history and Green has 1,231 career points which ranks eighth.
Miller reached a milestone of her own as she notched her 250th career win as a D-I head coach and her 12th season with 15 or more wins. With the victory, UIC improves to 15-9 overall and 8-5 in the Horizon League.
Bailey and Green were joined in double figures by seniors Kiara Strickland (12) and Cree Nix (10) and junior Taylor Foulks (12). Today’s game was the first time all season the Flames had five players score 10 points or more.
Eleven seconds into the contest Foulks drained one of her four threes as the Flames executed a 5-0 run to start the contest. The Vikings came roaring back and took the lead, 12-10, on a Shalonda Winton three with 11:52 on the clock. That lasted all of 17 seconds as the Flames went on a 9-2 spurt over the next three minutes, with seven points coming from Bailey.
Bailey continued her first-half scoring surge with a three ball from the right corner at the 6:13 mark, giving UIC the 22-16 lead.
The Vikings stayed within striking distance and cut the Flames lead to four, 28-24, but not before Green swished a trey with eight seconds left in the half, cementing the 31-24 halftime edge.
At the break, Bailey led all scorers with 10 points, including six boards and five steals. Green wasn’t far behind with nine points.
Senior Cree Nix got things started for UIC in the second half by scoring the Flame’s first four points. Bailey followed that up on a tough layup as she sliced her way through the lane, yielding an 11-point lead for UIC with 16:31 on the clock.
The Flames reached a 20-point lead at the 10:06 mark as Nix banked in a runner as she entered double-digit territory for the fourth time this season.
UIC held strong down the stretch to seal the 72-50 triumph. Freshman Gisselle Truiett scored the game’s final two points on a 10-foot jumper from the right wing.
The Flames return to action on Thursday, Feb. 16 at Valparaiso. Cleveland State returns home and hosts Green Bay.
Valparaiso 72, Butler 59
The Crusaders finally ended the road losing streak to the Bulldogs that dated back to 1983 with a convincing 71-58 triumph in Indianapolis, Ind., on Saturday afternoon.
Valpo shot a season-high 52.1% from the floor for the game and made 7-of-11 (63.6%) from long range erasing a one-point halftime deficit to win back-to-back games on the road for the first time since March of 2008.
Tabitha Gerardotscored a career-high 26 points, making 10-of-17 shots from the floor, and pulled down eight rebounds to pace the Crusaders.
The Crusaders trailed 30-29 at intermission but Ashley Timmerman connected on a three-pointer on Valpo’s first possession of the second half to give Valpo the lead for good. Two trips down the floor later, Timmerman drained another three and followed that up with a jumper in the paint. The senior then registered a steal and scored to cap a personal 10-0 run and give the Crusaders a 39-30 lead less than three minutes out of the break.
Gerardot added a basket in transition a short while later and pushed the Crusader advantage to 12, 46-34, at the 14:19 mark as Valpo started 7-of-9 from the floor in the second half.
Butler answered with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four and the margin remained when Gerardot hit a step-back triple with just under eight minutes to play. Ieva Jansone added a three of her own to extend the lead to eight and Jessica Carr followed with a jumper to give the Crusaders a double digit lead again with just over six minutes left.
Laura Richardsadded a baseline jumper at the 2:13 mark to cap an 11-3 run and extend the lead to 13. The junior point guard then went 6-for-6 from the free throw line over the final 1:15 to secure the win.
Richards finished with 12 points, making 8-of-9 from the charity stripe, while playing all 40 minutes for the seventh time this season and third consecutive game. Timmerman added 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from long range.
Devin Brierly led Butler (10-13, 6-6) with 20 points while Hannah Douglas added 14 for the Bulldogs.
Butler jumped out to its largest lead of the game, 11-6, early in the first half before Timmerman tied the game at 14 with a triple. Valpo took the lead 21-19 at the 5:15 mark when Gerardot scored inside, but then had to battle foul trouble the rest of the half. The Crusaders were able to go into the locker room trailing by just one, giving themselves the opportunity for the second half win.
Valpo’s defense held the Bulldogs to just 27.3% shooting from the floor in the second half after Butler connected at 40.7% in the opening 20 minutes. The Crusaders were a blistering 64% from the field over the final stanza.
Valparaiso (7-16, 3-9) returns home to the Athletics-Recreation Center on Thursday evening to host UIC. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
Tags: Detroit Mercy - Women's Basketball · Green Bay - Women's Basketball · Loyola - Women's Basketball · UIC - Women's Basketball · Valparaiso - Women's Basketball
