Powered by Wright State guard Tay’ler Mingo, the Raiders split a pair of decisions last week with a win at home against Cleveland State and a road loss to Youngstown State. Mingo scored at least 30 points in both contests last week.
Wright State is in second place in the Horizon League, but sits two games behind first place Green Bay in the loss column.
On Jan. 22, the Raiders traveled to Youngstown in an attempt to give the Penguins their first home loss of the season but fell short 75-70. The Raiders led at halftime 29-26 and won the rebound margin by seven.
Early in the second half, the Raiders were up by seven but could not slow down the Penguins who shot 60.7 percent from the floor, only missing 11 field goals. WSU had 15 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points but lost the paint battle by 10.
Mingo led all scorers with 30 points. Courtney Boyd added 13 points for the Raiders and Tayler Stanton nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Breanna Stucke added 10 rebounds.
The Raiders bounced back at the Nutter Center last Saturday against a team that beat them twice last year, Cleveland State. WSU trailed 20-8 early in the first half but retaliated with a zone defense and 31-8 run.
In the second half, the Raiders protected the ball, and collected a 25-7 point run. WSU had 28 points off of 19 turnovers for the game and had a +13 turnover ratio.
“It’s always crucial that we take care of the ball,” Mingo said. “It would always mean transition for the other team. I think we pride ourselves on making good passes and not turning it over.”
Mingo led the Raiders with 31 points, six steals and tied a career high with 10 assists collecting her second career double-double. Richelle van der Keijl posted a career-high 19 points with 8 rebounds off of the bench for the Raiders.
“We rely a lot on Mingo,” WSU head coach Mike Bradbury said. “Obviously, that’s not hard to see. She’s been up for it and played well. We need her to continue that. We lean on her pretty heavy.”
Mingo was the Horizon League’s Player of the Week last week and surpassed her 1,000th career point for the Raiders in the second half during the Cleveland State game. She has scored over 30 points in three consecutive games averaging 27.6 points per game in conference play and 23.9 overall. She is ranked fourth in the NCAA for points per game and is tied for second in steals per game with 3.7.
“I just take advantage of what people give me but there’s no secret,” Mingo said. “You’ve got to play hard, I play hard.”
The Raiders currently lead the Horizon League with 76.8 points per game and 46.3 rebounds per game. They will travel to Oakland, Michigan next week in a conference matchup against the 9-9 Golden Grizzlies.
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