Women's Basketball Earns 77-65 Win Over No. 20 Wayne State

The Northwood women's basketball team claimed an impressive 77-65 win over No. 20 Wayne State Thursday night (January 16).

Northwood improves to 7-6 overall, 5-4 in the GLIAC.  Wayne State falls to 11-2 overall, 8-1 in the GLIAC.

The Timberwolves got off to a fast start early on, going up 20-10 less than nine minutes into the game.  NU led by as many as 13, but the Warriors fought back get within one at 28-27. Northwood bounced back with a run of their own, scoring 11 straight points to go up 39-27. The Timberwolves eventually took a 39-33 lead at the break.  NU finished the opening half at 42.9 percent from the floor (15-35), while WSU ended at 40.0 percent (14-35).

Wayne State was the better team in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, going up 55-49 with 9:37 remaining. But the Timberwolves came up with the key run of the game at that point, scoring 22 of the next 26 points to go up 71-59. WSU got no closer than eight in the final four minutes.

For the game, Northwood shot 45.2 percent from the floor (28-62).  NU went 7-22 from 3-point range (31.8 percent) and 14-20 from the foul line (70.0 percent). WSU finished at 41.0 percent (25-61) from the floor. Fast break points were a big key in the game, as Northwood finished with a 14-2 edge in transition points.

Leading the way for Northwood was Lauren Robak (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes). She finished with a game-high 27 points, going 9-17 from the floor and 3-7 from 3-point range. Sarah Susan (Grand Rapids, Mich./Byron Center) finished with 21 points and six rebounds, while Gabrielle Rivette (Fenton, Mich.) added 19 points.

Northwood will travel to Lake Superior State Saturday (January 18). Game time is set for 1 p.m.