Eastern Wayne Today

The Wayne State University women's basketball team secured a 66-61 victory over Parkside in an important road game at De Simone Arena. This win brought Wayne State's overall record to 13-6 and tied them with Parkside in the conference standings at 6-4.

In the first quarter, Sheridan Flauger of Parkside scored a three-pointer early on, but Wayne State responded with five points from Shea Tripp and Taylor Thompson. The Warriors ended the quarter leading by one point, 17-16, thanks to contributions from Tripp, Thompson, and McKenna Ferguson.

During the second quarter, both teams exchanged leads multiple times. Despite this back-and-forth action, Wayne State managed to lead for most of the period and went into halftime ahead by four points at 36-32. Key shots from Becca Fugate helped maintain their advantage.

Parkside outscored Wayne State slightly in the third quarter but could not take control of the game. The Warriors' largest lead was 13 points midway through the period before Parkside closed their deficit to two points by the end of the quarter.

In the final quarter, Avery Lutchka's performance was pivotal for Wayne State. She scored all of her team's points until Kate McArthur's crucial three-pointer in the last minute. Ferguson added three free throws to secure a five-point win for Wayne State.

Wayne State limited Parkside to 61 points after conceding 95 in their previous meeting. Despite shooting less accurately than Parkside overall, they succeeded due to better free throw accuracy and rebounding.

Avery Lutchka led Wayne State with a double-double performance of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Shea Tripp narrowly missed her own double-double with nine points and ten rebounds. Cassidy Arni was Parkside's top scorer with 14 points.

Wayne State will next face Purdue Northwest on Saturday as part of their Central Time Zone road trip.