Like an injured MMA fighter, Wright State fought at less than full strength Wednesday night at Calihan Hall, surviving several jabs by Detroit until the knockout blow was delivered with less than a minute remaining.
The Raiders (10-13, 4-6) succumbed to the Titans (14-8, 7-3) 73-66 in Detroit despite four WSU players scoring in double-figures, including a team-high 21 points from Kim Demmings.
WSU trailed by eight at halftime, and by as much as 13 points with 14 minutes left in the game. A 23-10 run by the Raiders tied the game at 63 with 3:15 remaining, and after a quick 5-0 run by Detroit, a three-pointer from Demmings cut the lead to two with 2:01 left.
A one-two punch from Detroit put WSU on the mat for good. Titans guard Demeisha Fambro’s layup and forward Shareta Brown’s three-pointer ended the WSU comeback story with 59 seconds on the clock.
Already short-handed, WSU had only two healthy bench players available (reserve standout Ivory James missed the game with a concussion). The Detroit bench outscored WSU’s backups 22-2, but the Raider starters kept the game within reach. Tayler Stanton scored 15 points while KC Elkins and Breanna Stucke added 12 and 11.
WSU will return to the Nutter Center Saturday night against Loyola at 6 p.m.
