The onset of frigid temperatures outside of the Nutter Center did very little to cool off the Raiders’ sizzling defense and hot hands on offense.
WSU forced a season-high 37 turnovers and 18 steals in a easy 90-37 win over NAIA opponent Marian Sunday in Fairborn.
Four Raiders finished in double-figures, including Kim Demmings, who led all scorers with 17. All but one player who logged minutes against the Knights scored at least four points and all but two players recorded one steal. 
“This was a game [where we were] coming off of two really good wins against two really good opponents. This was one of those games that could be a trap game and a game were you could get sloppy and it was nice to see, for the most part, we played the way we were supposed to play,” Raiders' head coach Mike Bradbury said.
Guard Tay’ler Mingo, who finished tied with KC Elkins with a team-high five steals, said after the game that despite the disparity in talent between the two teams, WSU remained focused on playing its familiar brand of aggressive defense against Marian.
“We knew the competition was going to be a little different than what we were used to, but we had a game plan and we executed it very well,” Mingo said.
WSU turned Marian’s 37 turnovers into 47 points and earned a 14-0 edge in fast-break scoring.
The game against the Knights was, in many, ways a tune-up for a Raiders team that has rarely been tested in its first six contests. WSU is averaging 84.5 points per game and has scored 90 or more points four times, including in the last three games.
Bradbury was able to spread the wealth in terms of playing minutes against the Knights. Nearly the entire team saw at least 20 minutes of playing time.
Bradbury opted for a four-guard starting lineup Sunday, substituting Elkins in place of starting forward Tayler Stanton who was “sick” with an undisclosed illness. Stanton played six minutes and grabbed three rebounds in limited action.
The Raiders will wait four days until their next game on Friday against North Carolina State at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, FL. at 2:30 p.m.
Women’s Basketball: Stifling defense gives Raiders third-straight win, dominate Knights by 53
Tay'ler Mingo (14) and the rest of the Raiders pounced on 18 steals Sunday against Marian.
