Women's Basketball Falls In Overtime To Wayne State 67-65

The Northwood University women's basketball team dropped a tough 67-65 overtime contest to GLIAC North Division leader Wayne State Thursday night (March 7)

Northwood is now 10-12 overall, 8-8 in the GLIAC.  Wayne State improves to 14-5 overall, 12-3 in the GLIAC.

The Timberwolves used a 17-2 run late in the first half to open up a lead as big as 10 late in the first half.  Northwood eventually took a 32-24 lead to the locker room.  Both team finished 11-28 from the floor in the half (39.3 percent), but the Timberwolves made four triples and six free throws compared to one triple and one free throw for the Warriors.

WSU used pressure defense and their size down low to get back into the game.  The Warriors grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in the second half, allowing them to out-score Northwood 9-0 in second chance points after the break.  Wayne State led 60-59 with under a minute remaining, but freshman Lauren Robak (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Timberwolves the lead at 62-60.  After the Warriors scored to tie the game at 60, Northwood had a chance to earn the win but were unable to score on their final possession to send the game to overtime.

Neither offense did much in overtime – Wayne State went 1-9 from the floor (11.1 percent) while Northwood was 1-6 (16.7 percent).  WSU connected on three free throws in the extra session while the Timberwolves did not get to the line.  NU had the final possession, trailing 67-65, but were unable to score.

For the game, Northwood finished at 40.7 percent from the floor (24-59), compared to 38.8 percent for Wayne State (26-67).  The Warriors efforts on the glass in the second half and overtime proved to be key, as they grabbed 18 offensive rebounds in the final 25 minutes compared to six for Northwood. 

Leading the way for Northwood was senior guard Rachel Church (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek).  She reached a milestone in the game, becoming the 13^th player in school history to reach the 1,000 point mark for her career.  She led NU with 16 points, putting her at 1,014 for her career overall.  Robak finished with 15 points.  Gabrielle Rivette (Fenton, Mich.) scored 11 points while dishing out a game-high nine assists.  Kaitlin Susan (Grand Rapids, Mich./Byron Center) added 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and three blocks.

Northwood will travel to Lake Superior State Saturday afternoon (February 9).  Game time is set for 3 p.m.