Women's Basketball Scoreboard (Feb. 18)
Wright State 92, Oakland 78
Behind season highs from Kim Demmings and KC Elkins, the Wright State women's basketball team pulled away in the second half for a 92-78 Horizon League win Tuesday night at Oakland.
The Raiders erased an early 6-5 deficit with nine straight points, five coming from Elkins and four by Tay'ler Mingo, to go up 14-6 with 14:35 remaining in the first half. WSU later extended the margin to 36-23 on an Ivory James layup at the 5:27 mark before the Golden Grizzlies closed the period with a 14-4 run, 10 of those from Elena Popkey, to cut the Raider lead to 40-39 at the break.
Wright State shot 38 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and hit 12 of 15 free throws while Oakland shot 32 percent and was 10 of 15 at the stripe.
The Golden Grizzlies held a one-point edge twice in the opening minutes of the second half before seven consecutive points, includng a three and layup by Demmings, put WSU up for good at 52-46 with 16:33 to play.
A three and layup from Elkins pushed the lead into double figures at 61-51 at the 12:39 mark, only to see Oakland close to within five at 63-58 with still 9:55 remaining.
Wright State, however, maintained the advantage and again went up double figures for good at 78-67 on a Demmings three-point play with 5:17 left. The Raiders gradually pushed the margin to as much as 17 twice in the closing minutes.
WSU scorched the nets in the second half, hitting 22 of 33 shots, including four of seven from behind the arc, to finish the game at 52 percent. Oakland also shot well in the second half, making 15 of 30 shots to end up at 40 percent overall.
Demmings finished with a season-high 36 points, two shy of tying her career best, with 26 of those coming after halftime. Elkins added a season-high 27 while James had 13 along with eight rebounds and Mingo 12 with six assists.
Popkey paced Oakland (11-14, 6-6 Horizon) with 28 points and nine boards while Victoria Lipscomb had 17 and Bethany Watterworth 15.
