SOUTHFIELD--Maggie Long and Kate Jacobs each scored 14 points to lead Lawrence Tech, and DeDe Smith came off the bench to add 12 in her collegiate debut, but visiting Shawnee State capitalized on some Blue Devils turnovers to get a 73-63 win Monday in non-conference women's basketball action at the Don Ridler Field House. The Bears even their record to 1-1 while LTU was playing its season opener.

LTU Highlights

• Jacobs led the team with nine rebounds and she made all eight of her free throw attempts.
• Smith chipped in eight rebounds.
• Addie Nagel led all playmaker with five assists.

SSU Highlights

• Cianna Gloster grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds and scored 12 points for the double-double.
• Jariah Steele led all scorers with 16 points on 6-for-8 field goal shooting.
• Markayla Holland contributed 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.

How it Happened 

• Lawrence Tech led 18-16 after the opening quarter. The Blue Devils were down 9-2 before erupting on a 16-2 run to take an 18-11 lead on a Jacobs layup with 1 minute and 12 seconds to go. She scored six points during the run to help LTU to its biggest lead of the night.
• Shawnee State retook the lead, 19-18, on an Alexia Deaver (12 points, 4 assists) trey to open the second quarter. The teams traded baskets as the Bears went up 42-36--including a Teyarra Johnson layup to put SSU ahead to stay at the 2:11 mark--before Liv Linden drained a 3ball to cut the halftime deficit to 42-39.
• The closely-contested first half featured seven ties and 11 lead changes.
• Shawnee State never trailed in the second half, building as much as a 14-point lead in the fourth before LTU whittled it down to seven with a minute to play.
• Lawrence Tech committed 24 turnovers that led to 29 Shawnee State points.
• The Bears also enjoyed statistical advantages in rebounds (47-37), turnovers (17-24) and steals (11-6).
• The Blue Devils held SSU to 35.3 percent field goal shooting (24-68).

Beyond the Boxscore

• Lawrence Tech is now 3-2 in season openers under Coach Grace Howrigon.
• Sierra Robinson (3 points, 1 rebound) and Linden (7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) joined Smith in making their freshmen debuts.

Lawrence Tech continues its five-game homestand to open the 2023-24 campaign on Saturday (6 p.m.) versus non-conference foe Saint Xavier University (Ill.) at the DRFH.