Only until the clock read triple zeroes could Wright State breathe a sigh of relief.
Wright State needed all 40 minutes—plus five more—to dispose of Valparaiso 83-78 in overtime, giving the Raiders their first win in February hours before the calendar flipped another page.
The six-game losing streak was over, and not a moment too soon. With conference play winding to a close, Horizon League tournament seeding was on the line Thursday night in Indiana.
Valpo used a 7-0 run, starting with 3:30 remaining in the second half, capped off by a Tabitha Gerardot three with eight seconds left to force overtime. Gerardot tied a career-high with 33 points and added 18 rebounds, but Kim Demmings once again pulled WSU off the mat. Demmings scored 11 of Wright State’s 14 points in the final period and finished with a team-high 27 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Demmings was afforded plenty of help along the way as Breanna Stucke, Ivory James and Kayla Lamotte scored in double figures, and all but one Wright State player who logged minutes against the Crusaders tallied at least four points.
Despite persistent deficiencies at the free throw line and on offensive rebounds, Wright State distanced themselves from Valpo for much of the game thanks in large part to 46 percent shooting from the field and 22 bench points.
Wright State, the Horizon League leader in three-pointers attempted, flipped the script and used aggressive dribble-drives on their way to scoring 36 points in the paint.
As a result of the Raiders’ win and Milwaukee’s loss to Loyola, Wright State jumps from eighth to sixth place in the Horizon League standings with two games left in conference action.
Wright State plays its final road game of the season Saturday against Youngstown St. at 2:05 p.m. The game can be viewed online at horizonleague.org.
