Site: Dearborn, Mich. (UMD Fieldhouse)
Score: Madonna University 75, University of Michigan-Dearborn 74
Records: MU 7-11 (3-3 WHAC); UMD 1-19 (0-6 WHAC)
Next MU event: Wednesday January 27 at Concordia (Concordia Fieldhouse)

BOX SCORE

DEARBORN, Mich. (MadonnaCrusaders.com) - -The first career triple-double from junior Tabatha Wydryck along with a clutch free throw from junior Katie Mount (Waterford, Mich.) was just enough as the Madonna University women's basketball team held off a pesky University of Michigan-Dearborn squad for a 75-74 win on Saturday (Jan. 23) inside the UMD Fieldhouse.

Wydryck scored 19 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out a career-high 10 assists in producing the first triple-double by a Madonna player in over five seasons. Sophomore Heather Goodwin (Temperance, Mich.) added 15 points while a pair of freshmen in Shantelle Herring (Macomb, Mich.) and Kaylee McGrath (Livonia, Mich.) added 15 and 13 points respectively. Kim Lackowski posted a double-double of her own in the loss for the Wolves with 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Early on the game looked like it was headed for a blow out as Madonna held a 10-point cushion at 12-2 just under six minutes into the game. That lead was short lived as Michigan-Dearborn used a 13-3 run over the next five minutes to tie the game at 15-all with 8:47 to go.

The two sides traded the lead over the next seven minutes with neither side hold an edge of more than four. After UMD tied the game at 32-all with just over 90 seconds left in the half, Goodwin gave MU a two point halftime lead with a pair of free throws with 34 seconds left for a 34-32 lead at intermission.

The trend of lead changes continued into the second half as MU and UMD passed the lead back and forth over the first five minutes of the half. UMD forced the game's fifth tie, this time at 44-44 with an even 15 minutes on the clock and then used a 13-4 run over the next 3:18 to go up by nine - its largest margin of the day - at 57-48.

An 11-0 run by Madonna over the ensuing four minutes erased the Crusaders' nine-point deficit and put the Royal Blue and Gold up a pair at 59-57. During the run MU got five points from Wydryck along with a pair of triples from McGrath to climb back on top by two with 7:07 left.

The next three-plus minutes saw the game tied three times before a pair of free throws from Mount put MU up one, 64-63, with 3:49 left. 

The Wolves trimmed the Crusader lead to three with 1:20 left but a pair of charity tosses from Wydryck with 37 seconds left pushed the lead back up to five. Another Wydryck free throw made it a six-point game at 74-68 with 19 seconds to go but UMD answered with a Katie Gulliver three that trimmed the MU lead back to three at 74-71 with 10 seconds left.

Mount was fouled on the ensuing play and made one of her two free throws and that proved to be the difference in the game as Megan Robinets hit a three from the corner as time expired for UMD to make it a 75-74 final.

The Crusaders return to the court and look to extend their winning streak to four on Wednesday night (Jan. 27) when they make the short trip to Ann Arbor to take on Concordia. Tip-off is set for 5:30pm.

QUOTES
Head Coach Carl Graves
On the game as a whole:
"Whew! Our youth was on display today but we showed that we can step up and finish a game that we struggled in defensively from the start. This is what college basketball is all about. You can not take anyone or anything lightly. The league is highly competitive. We will grow from today's struggles."

On Wydryck's performance today
"I'm so very lucky to have her here at Madonna. She makes me want to be a better coach."

Junior guard Tabatha Wydryck
On her triple-double and the game:
"Honestly I had no idea I had it until you guys told me after the game. As a team we did not play up to our potential. A game like this is not a success for us, we should have done better. Even though the numbers show a good game, it could have been a lot better."

On the difference between the first five minutes and when Michigan-Dearborn game back and took the lead:
"I think that opened up everyone's eyes and we saw that it was not going to be a cake walk and we were going to have to play 100 percent. Our intensity is in levels. We have intense moments and we have lulls. We need to figure out how to put together a 40 minute game of intense moments.

On what it means to be back at .500 in the WHAC:
"It means a lot. Our coaches have said we needed this win to help keep us on track. Ever since we won at Tech we've been on a roll and hopefully we can keep this going. Now that we are 3-3, hopefully we can keep moving ourselves up. It's defiantly a good thing we are back to 3-3 but we have to keep going."

Contact: Patrick Moore (734) 432-5834