(Hillsdale, Mich) - After that last two times out on the court, you could see that it was only a matter of time before Lake Erie women's basketball (1-9,1-9 G-MAC) earned their first win of the year. Hillsdale (2-10, 2-10 G-MAC)  played until the last whistle in the 78-76 Storm victory on Thursday night. 

Lake Erie started out the game on a 14-1 lead and never looked back. At the end of the first quarter, the Storm shot 45% and had a strong nine-point lead. Coach Mackenzie Perttu's bunch struggled taking care of the ball in the first few games this season but today the Storm limited their turnovers to 11 and forced Hillsdale into 14. 

Sophomore guard Sydney Wyngarden continued her impressive hot streak with 11 points before the break and helped Lake Erie take a 42-35 lead at halftime. 

In the second half, Hillsdale continued to attempt a comeback but the Storm had an answer on each possession. Lake Erie outshot Hillsdale 45% to 39% from the field. Hillsdale struggled behind the arc attempting 27 three-pointers and only converting nine attempts.

"Tonight was a really great team win for us. We had so many players step up and contribute throughout the game, and make some big plays down the stretch" said Perttu. 

Wyngarden's team-high 18 points is now her seventh double-figure performance, averaging 16 points in four games. To add to her point totals Wyngarden secured a game-high 13 rebounds. Junior guard Lainey Billing tallied 16 points in 26 minutes, sophomore guard Angela Fink scored a career-best 14 points. 

Lake Erie finished the game shooting 45.6% (31-68) compared to Hillsdale's 39.1% (25-64). Perttu added, "It felt as though we found more of a groove on the offensive end and we're playing with a lot of confidence, which we love to see! We are excited to take this momentum into our next match up at Findlay on Saturday."

Tip-off in Findlay is set for 1:00 pm on Saturday, Jan 30.