Box Score
SAULT STE. MARIE – A sustained defensive effort led the Lake Superior State women's basketball team to a 55-40 home victory over Wayne State Saturday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium.
The Lakers (2-4 overall, 1-1 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) played an impressive first half for the third game in a row and capped off another good start with an equally-impressive second half. They snapped a nine-game losing streak against the three-time GLIAC divisional champion Warriors that dates back to Jan. 16, 2010.
LSSU opened the game with a 12-6 first-quarter lead and extended it to 26-15 at halftime. Wayne State (4-2 overall, 0-2 GLIAC) trimmed a 13-point lead to seven, 33-26, at the end of the third quarter and cut it to six early in the fourth.
LSSU's Alexis Rowe and Megan Manninen hit back-to-back three-pointers at 7:55 and 7:26 of the fourth quarter to answer a 6-0 WSU run. A Rowe steal at 6:59 led to a layup and three-point play by Laker Tamara Novic for a 42-28 LSSU lead.
WSU's Brittany Streetman made a three-pointer with 1:57 remaining to bring the Warriors within eight points, 45-37, but LSSU's Valerie Meissner answered with two free throws to regain the Lakers' double-digit lead. Manninen and Mackenzie Edwards also made two free throws each near the one-minute mark, putting the game out of reach.
LSSU limited a bigger Wayne State team to a season-low 28.1 percent from the field, including 7-of-30 during the first half. The Warriors were 1-of-21 from behind the arc and 5-of-10 at the free throw line. Kristen Long, India Hawkins and Shannon Wilson scored seven points each to lead WSU.
Edwards scored 12 points, and Manninen and Novic added 11 each to lead Lake Superior State. Meissner followed with 10 points.
Natalie Peterson led LSSU rebounders with 10, and Manninen totaled a game-high seven assists and three steals. The Lakers held an 11-4 edge in points off turnovers.
Lake Superior State shot 31.9 percent from the field and survived shooting only 25 percent during the second half. The Lakers made 7-of-26 three-point attempts and 18-of-21 free throws.
LSSU plays Dec. 10 at Malone.
