In the 2017 Horizon League Championships Wright State women’s basketball came in with the number two ranking and a favorite to make it to the finals. In their first game of the tournament the Lady Raiders looked poised to advance to the finals.
Facing tenth seed UIC in their first tournament game WSU claimed a 79-52 victory and advanced to the semi-final round.
In the victory Wright State was able to force UIC to commit 27 turnovers, which WSU turned into 34 points. Chelsea Welch led the Lady Raiders with 18 points as she hit three shots from beyond the arc. Emily Vogelpohl chipped in 15 points and collected five steals in the game. The Lady Raiders also shot 50 percent from three-point range to earn them a victory.
In the semi-final round the Lady Raiders failed to continue their hot shooting as they fell to third seed Detroit Mercy 52-71.
In the loss the Raiders shot 25 percent from the field and just eight percent from three-point range.
“Sometimes you can’t quite overcome the shooting battle. We usually find a way, and tonight we just didn’t,” said Coach Katrina Merriweather.
Lexi Smith and Emily Vogelpohl each had a double-double in the losing effort. Smith had 18 points to go with 14 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive. Vogelpohl finished with 10 points and 11 boards.
“I’m excited for what next week holds. I would imagine we will be in the postseason. That is what we are hoping to hear, so we’re going to get back to work after a few days off and continue to get better. Hopefully this season is not over yet,” said Coach Merriweather.
The Lady Raiders now sit and wait to see if they will make it into the WNIT tournament. Selection day is March 13, so WSU will wait to see if their season continues.
