Wright State had career performances as it defeated the Valparaiso Crusaders 95-66 at the Nutter Center on Saturday. The Raiders are now 18-5 overall on the season and second in the Horizon League with a 7-2 record.
Tay’ler Mingo collected her third career double-double as she led all scorers with 27 points and had a career high with 11 assists. Symone Denham posted her first career double-double with a career high 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“A lot of the credits goes to my teammates for getting me open and being in the right spot," Denham said. "We played together and I feel like we were a lot more in-tune today.”
Breanna Stucke also posted a double-double for her third straight game with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Mingo praised Stucke as she said, “Stucke has always been my go-to. All of her buckets are quiet; she rebounds the heck out of the ball and always works hard. I know I can count on her.”
Tayler Stanton nearly had a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Valparaiso collected 33 bench points in the game and was led by, Dani Franklin with 20.
In the first half, the Raiders got off to a quick 10-4 run with five early points from Mingo. The game went back and forth as the score was tied eight times in the half. Valpo guard, Jessica Carr, drained a half-court buzzer beater as time expired to give the Crusaders a 42-40 lead at the break.
The Raiders had 18 points in the paint during the half and shot an overall 53.1 percent from the field. Mingo and Franklin each had 13 points to lead their teams.
“We took it personal; we know we didn’t play that well in the first half," Mingo said.
After the break, the Raiders switched to man defense and got off to a hot start with a 17-6 run. The Crusaders fought back but could not contain the Raiders as they scored 55 second half points. WSU collected 38 points in the paint and 18 points off of 11 turnovers in the game.
“We came out with a great energy in the second half and it hit everybody," Mingo said. "Changing our defense and going to man, really got us hyped up and helped us in transition.”
After winning four straight games, the Raiders will travel to Green Bay on Thursday for a tough matchup against the Phoenix. The Phoenix currently lead the Horizon League with an 8-1 record.
In his career, Bradbury is 1-10 against the Phoenix. "It’s nothing bigger than our next game," Bradbury said. "I think people get wrapped up in playing Green bay and make it a bigger deal. It is no more important than playing Valpo at home.”
Last time against the Raiders, the Phoenix had five scorers in double digits and won 68-59. Mingo led all scorers with 24 points, followed by Stucke with 19. Tip-off is at 8 p.m.
