Women's basketball stumbles into playoffs

WSU loses fourth straight game; will face Hillsdale again

Jeff Buck
Staff Writer

Turnovers were a key factor, allowing Hillsdale to beat Wayne State, 69-62, in a playoff preview game Saturday at Hillsdale.

WSU (10-17, 8-9 GLIAC) committed 30 turnovers, way above their 19 per game average and recorded only two assists, while entering the game with an average of 13.1 per contest.

The Warriors recorded their fourth consecutive loss but have insight on what they need to accomplish in practice before Tuesday's contest.

"We're really going to need to work on protecting the ball," guard Cherita Smith said. "It will be important to practice protecting the ball and boxing out before we play them again."

Chastidy Miller tied the game at two on a lay-up, ending an almost three-minute Warrior drought to begin the game. Despite sloppy passing, WSU took control of the game by going on an 11-6 run, building their lead to six with 8:47 to play in the first half.

The Chargers fueled a run of their own, with a pair of free throws followed by a 3-pointer from Lauren Fewins cutting the Warrior-lead to one.

Leading by as many as five, Hillsdale watched their lead disappear as Ralphaneé Peyton sank two lay-ups and Miller hit two free throws to tie the score at 25 going into the break.

Entering the second half it was all Hillsdale. Crystal Yoder sparked a 6-0 run for the Chargers to give her team a six-point advantage.

The Warriors didn't deflate, though, and made a few runs of their own.

Rebecca Meyer drew a foul while making a bucket and hit the free throw to cut the WSU deficit to three before Joy Nash hit a jumper to bring the Warriors to within one point.

Hillsdale quickly extinguished the threat, going on a 14-4 run to build its largest lead of the night at 11 points. It was short-lived once again, as Nash and Brooke Bowers created a WSU run capped by a 3-pointer from Jessica Howard to cut the Chargers' lead to two points.

Nash kept the Warriors close on perfect free-throw shooting (8-of-8) but WSU was unable to stop the Chargers from pulling away at the end of the game.

Nash led the Warriors with 18 points (5-of-17 from the field). Peyton finished with 12 rebounds accompanied by 8 points (4-of-4 from the field) and three steals.

Hillsdale finished with three players in double figures scoring. Jessie Miller recorded 16 points while Laura Fewins and Nikki Wustman scored 12 and 11 points respectively.

The Warriors and Chargers tip off in the first round of the GLIAC tournament on Tuesday at Hillsdale.

The South End, February 26, 2007

Warriors tripped by lowly Chargers

WSU loses shot at home playoff game

Jeff Buck
Staff Writer

Despite leading 38-33 at halftime, the Wayne State men's basketball team fell 88-83 at Hillsdale on Saturday, failing to secure a home playoff game in the first round of the conference tournament.

After never leading in the first half, Hillsdale scored seven quick points off a Tim Homan 3-pointer and a pair of lay-ups to take a 40-38 lead.

Homan added another 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to help build the Chargers' lead to eight points.

"Clearly our execution was off," WSU head coach David Greer said. "They went on a 7-0 run to start the second half and got themselves back into the game.

"We clearly just didn't make enough plays. We had guys that were in position to make plays and didn't make plays.

"They were the more aggressive team, which was evident by them shooting 40 free throws and we shot 18."

The Warriors came out strong in the first half, jumping out to an 11-5 lead with Kris Krzyminski accounting for seven of those points.

WSU (13-12, 9-8 GLIAC) allowed Hillsdale to get within four before going on a 17-11 run to go up by as many as 12 points.

The Warriors went to the locker room leading by five, but four of their starting five players had committed two fouls apiece.

Fueled by Will Pierce and Wynn Sarden, the Warriors continued to claw back, finding themselves down by two after a Krzyminski lay-up with 7:14 remaining in the game.

WSU closed the gap to one before foul trouble set in and the Chargers retook control of the game, building their lead back up to nine points.

Foul trouble forced four players back to the bench and ruined the Warriors' last hopes at taking back the game.

"We're coached to be prepared for moments like that," guard Joe Carr said. "We have to handle adverse moments like that. With some credit to their team, we have to learn from our mistakes from this game and be ready for the playoffs."

Krzyminski finished the game with 21 points (7-of-13 from the field) with five assists and two steals in 40 minutes.

Jason Saddler led Wayne State with nine rebounds to complement his 14 points before fouling out late in the second half. Carr ended the night shooting 5-of-16 from the field, for 14 points in 33 minutes.

The Warriors shot 48.7 percent in the second half, while the Chargers connected on 61.5 percent of their shots in the half. WSU committed 12 more fouls than Hillsdale but held a 35-30 rebounding advantage.

WSU travels to Erie, Penn. to face Mercyhurst for a first-round GLIAC tournament game on Tuesday.

The South End, February 26, 2007

Big weekend for men's hockey

Warriors get three points against No. 17 Niagara

Sports Staff

Wayne State finally pieced it all together during a conference game, upending Niagara 6-1 Friday night at the Michigan State Fairgrounds.

The Warriors put in a similar effort and settled for a 4-4 tie against the No. 17 Purple Eagles.

Friday:

The Warriors came out in the first period ready to play, taking the early lead off Jason Bloomingburg's ninth goal of the season, then adding to it with Mike Forgie's power play tally at 18:03.

Jared Katz's ninth goal of the season put the Warriors up by three headed into the second period.
To open the second period, Adam Drescher added to WSU's lead on a two-on-one break.

The Purple Eagles finally put themselves on the board off a power-play goal by Ted Cook, who notched his nation-leading 28th goal and 18th power-play goal.

That would be the only goal let in by WSU goalie Will Hooper, who made 20 saves in his third win of the season.

Nate Higgins and Bloomingburg each netted a goal in the second period to extend the Warriors' lead to five.

Niagara split the night between two of their goalies, Juliano Pagliero and Allen Barton. Pagliero made nine saves and allowed six goals. Barton made 10 saves in 28:50 minutes of relief.

Saturday:

Earning three points on the weekend, Wayne State improved to 9-20-1 overall and 5-10-1 in the CHA.

Niagara stayed two points behind Bemidji State (with two games in hand) after the Beavers split with Alabama-Huntsville and has now lost three of four after Robert Morris swept BSU Feb. 9-10.

Saturday:

Entering the third period down two goals, it was WSU who battled back to force overtime.

Bloomingburg and Jon Grabarek would score a pair of power-play goals in the third period to tie the game at four. Both teams were unable to capitalize in overtime, resulting in a tie.
A power-play goal by Jared Katz at 2:08 in the first period put the Warriors on the scoreboard early.

Matt Caruana answered with a power-play goal of his own at 15:35 to tie the score at one.
WSU forward Grabarek netted his first of two goals at 4:31 in the second period to put the Warriors back ahead by one.

Niagara answered with a pair of power-play goals from Egor Mironov and Ted Cook. It would be Cook's 29th goal of the season. The Purple Eagles led at the end of the second period, 3-2.

Caruana would net an early goal for Niagara in the third period, putting his team up by two goals before WSU tied the game off its two power-play goals.

Brett Bothwell was in net for the Warriors, ending the game with 27 saves. Barton played the full 65 minutes for Niagara with 24 saves.

The South End, February 19, 2007

Saginaw Valley State hands

WSU third straight loss

Jeff Buck
Staff Writer

Wayne State was defeated 69-60 by Saginaw Valley State, extending the Warriors' losing streak to three games in the final home contest in the careers of three WSU seniors.

Honored before the game on Senior Day were Bethany Mesko, Ralphane Peyton and Cherita Smith.
A Peyton lay up 16 seconds into the contest gave WSU (10-16, 8-8 GLIAC) its only lead of the first half.

After going down by as many as 15 points, WSU headed to the locker room down 35-23 after a Brooke Bowers jumper and a Rebecca Meyer free throw.

"Physically we were flat, mentally we were flat and we weren"t aggressive enough," Wayne State head coach Gloria Bradley said. ŇWhen you hit a stretch like that, where youŐre struggling, you need to bring a little more intensity to the table.

"You have to get a little more aggressive and we really never did that in the first half and that cost us."

WSU came out much more aggressive in the second half after a bizarre last-minute entrance by SVSU (10-14, 7-9), who took the court after skipping second half warm ups.

Nicole Rogers sank a three-pointer to begin an 18-5 WSU run that gave Wayne State the 41-40 advantage.

"We made sure to come out with more intensity," Chastidy Miller said. "We were shooting more, taking the open shots, driving to the basket, getting them in foul trouble. We just started playing our game."

The Warriors lead lasted 24 seconds as the Cardinals took back control and built their lead to as many as 12 points with just over seven minutes remaining.

In a final effort to reclaim the lead, Wayne State cut SVSU's advantage to five points with 4:23 to play after a pair of free throws from Joy Nash and a Smith lay up.

It wasn't enough though, as Latille Ross led the Cardinals down the stretch, closing the game scoring six of Saginaw Valley's last nine points.

"We ran out of gas because we dug such a big hole in the beginning of the game," Nash said. "We had to fight like crazy to get back in the game and just got lackadaisical when we maintained a lead, instead of continuing to play aggressive and hard to bury them."

Peyton led the Warriors with 14 points (4-of-7 from the field), shooting a career-high 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Rogers grabbed 11 boards to go along with four points and two steals.

Nash finished the game with five assists, bringing her season total to 134 and moving her into seventh place on the WSU single-season list.

The Warriors travel to Hillsdale for their final game of the regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday. WSU will head back to Hillsdale the following Tuesday at 7 p.m. for the first game of the GLIAC tournament.

The South End, February 19, 2007

Warriors drop road tilt at Gannon

Jeff Buck
Staff Writer

The Wayne State women’s basketball team fell to Gannon (18-5, 12-2) on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 78-63.

WSU (10-14, 8-6) controlled the lead early in the game but with 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter they watched it slip away. Gannon would go on a 13-5 run to lead by 10 at halftime, 40-30.

The Warriors found themselves chasing the lead for the remainder of the game never once overtaking it. Gannon led by as many as 20 points in the second half.

The Warriors would sink several crucial free throws down the stretch but could only creep to within 11.

Joy Nash led the Warriors with 17 points (5-for-14) with four assists and two steals. Chastidy Miller was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe finishing with 16 points (4-for-16) and four steals. Bethany Jury dominated the boards grabbing 10 rebounds in 19 minutes of play, four of which were offensive boards.

The Warriors shot only 30.4 percent from the field (21-for-69) while Gannon shot 50.7 percent (26-for-52).

Casey England was the leading scorer for Gannon with 17 points (6-for-10) in 27 minutes of play. Christina Jackson (5 points, 11 rebounds) and Carrie Nolan (10 points, 10 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles.

The Warriors return home this Thursday to take on GLIAC foe Ferris State at 5:30 p.m.

The South End, February 12, 2007

Warriors split with UAH

WSU rebounds with big Saturday win

Jeff Buck
Staff Writer

The Wayne State men’s hockey team looked to continue the momentum from their overtime win last Friday taking on the University of Alabama-Huntsville (8-18-2) this weekend at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum.

The Warriors split the weekend series, with the Chargers falling on Friday 3-1 and winning 4-1 on Saturday night.

Friday:

The Warriors found themselves down by only one goal entering the third period, but a goal by Grant Selinger sealed the deal for the Chargers, beating the Warriors 3-1.

It was a quiet first period, as both teams were unable to convert on either of their power play opportunities.

It was the second period that proved to be the most decisive with Scott Kalinchuck scoring a pair of power play goals for the Chargers, his fourth and fifth of the season.Wayne State, however, was able to tie the game at one after a goal from Nate Higgins (9) just outside the crease before Kalinschuck’s second power play score.

The Warriors took 24 shots on goal, 14 of them in the third period. Brett Bothwell (6-9-0) had 21 saves in the loss.

The Chargers also attempted 24 shots, taking 11 in each of the first two periods. Winning goalie Blake MacNicol (1-0-0) had 23 saves and only let in one goal.

The three stars of the game were UAH players Scott Kalinchuck and Blake MacNicol and WSU center Nate Higgins.

Saturday:

The Warriors scored first and often Saturday, with a pair of second-period goals that would prove to be enough to triumph over the Chargers 4-1.

WSU goalie Will Hooper took over the net and was phenomenal with 17 saves on the night.

WSU head coach Bill Wilkinson attributed the performance to Hooper’s hard work in practice.

“He realized that if he was going to get back in the net he needed to work harder,” he said. “His practice work ethic has improved about 20-30 percent from what it has been. Now, he’s at the level that we really need him to perform at and that’s indicated in the way he played tonight.”

The Warriors netted three goals in the second period, putting them ahead by two. After losing his stick, goalie Blake MacNicol attempted to save a shot from Dan Iliakis, but the puck found a hole, putting WSU on the board. Jason Baclig slapped one through off a pass from Mark Nebus, building the Warriors’ lead to two.

After a defensive breakdown, the Chargers would convert with a 2-on-1 advantage. A quick pass from Grant Selinger gave Brett MaConnachie his 11th goal of the season and put UAH on the board.

“The defensemen pinched down on the boards and didn’t take the puck or the man, and that created an odd man rush,” Wilkinson said.

The Warriors were unfazed as they picked up a power play goal from Jared Katz at 19:37 giving them a two-goal advantage going into the second intermission.

Katz was ready and found himself in the right spot at the right time.

“I was just standing in front of the net hoping something would happen and it just deflected off my stick and went in,” he said.

Hooper (2-11-0) recorded the win, with MacNicol (1-1-0) receiving the loss after 28 saves and allowing four goals.

The Warriors took 32 shots compared to UAH’s 18.

The three stars of the night were WSU players Jason Baclig with one goal, Jared Katz with one goal and an assist, and goalie Will Hooper.

The South End, February 12, 2007

Women’s hoops surrenders lead

Ashland wins in final second

Jeff Buck
Staff Writer

No lead is ever safe.

Wayne State found that out the hard way Saturday at the Matthaei Center, falling 70-67 to Ashland.

With 15 seconds remaining, Brooke Bowers drove to the basket and missed a lay-up. Betsy Morrison grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up the court to Amber Rall, who, with nine-tenths of a second remaining, sank a three-pointer that gave the Eagles their first and only lead of the night.

The Warriors, who need one win to clinch a GLIAC Tournament berth, came out firing. WSU began the game with a Joy Nash jumper off a Ralphanee Peyton steal. WSU started on a 10-0 run and led by as many as 16 in the first half.

Chastidy Miller sank a 3-pointer to extend the WSU lead to 12, but Lindsey Gaut answered back and cut the lead back to nine. WSU led, 36-27, at halftime.

The Warriors outrebounded Ashland 21-14 in the first half, including11 offensive boards. WSU committed only eight turnovers in the half to the Eagles’ 15.

Bowers came out of the locker room shooting, sinking three three-pointers within two minutes, building the Warriors’ lead up to 13.

But the Eagles were not fazed, putting together an offensive surge that couldn’t be stopped. Ashland went on a 12-0 run to bring them within one point with ten minutes to play.

A lay-up by Peyton ended the Eagles’ run and provided momentum for the Warriors to build on their lead. WSU went up by as many as seven before Ashland made its final attempt to take back the game.

With 2:27 left in the game Catherine Portyrata converted on a lay-up to start a run that brought her team again to within one point.

Bowers and Rogers led Wayne State with 14 points apiece. Bowers was 4-for-5 from downtown in 21 minutes. Rogers led the team in rebounds, grabbing 10, with six of them on the offensive side.

Nash had 13 points (5-for-7) in 17 minutes.

Rall led all scorers with 22 points (4-of-12 shooting) and went 13-of-15 from the charity stripe.

The South End, February 6, 2007