Southwest Minnesota State 72 Wayne State 71
Liz Grider hit a jumper with 2.7 seconds remaining to give Southwest Minnesota State a 72-71 victory over Wayne State in women's NSIC basketball played on Saturday evening in Wayne. Southwest Minnesota State moves to 7-8 overall and 3-4 in the NSIC with the win while Wayne State falls to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in the NSIC with the loss.
Wayne State led by as many as 12 in the first half, but the Mustangs rallied to take a 38-37 lead into the halftime break. The 'Cats led by as many as seven points in the second half, but Southwest Minnesota State continued to keep the game close. Laquisha Cook hit a free throw to give Wayne State a 69-68 lead with just under two minutes to play. After a SMSU miss, Laquisha Cook scored to increase the Wildcat lead to 71-68. Sara Leidall hit a jumper for the Mustangs to cut the Wildcat lead to one point with just over a minute to play. After two missed jump shots by Wayne State, Liz Grider hit the game winner from the baseline to give the visiting Mustangs the 72-71 victory.
Wayne State shot 42.9 percent from the field on the evening hitting 24 of 56 shots while Southwest Minnesota State shot 39.1 percent from the field hitting 25 of 64 shots in the game. Southwest Minnesota State held a 44-36 rebounding advantage over the 'Cats. Wayne State was hurt by poor free throw shooting. The 'Cats hit only 15 of 27 free throws for 55.6 percent while the Mustangs hit 16 of 19 from the foul line on the evening for 84.2 percent.
Laquisha Cook scored a game-high 25 points to lead Wayne State in the loss. Jodie Boss added 14 points and Andrea Schoepf scored 11 for the 'Cats. Kylee McGill and Laquisha Cook had eight rebounds apiece to lead WSC. Jodie Boss also tied a career-high with six blocked shots on the evening. Abby Oakland scored a career-high 19 points to lead Southwest Minnesota State. Liz Grider added 15 points on the evening including the game winner for the Mustangs.
Wayne State is back in action next weekend with home games against #5 Concordia-St. Paul on Friday evening and MSU Moorhead on Saturday evening. Both games are set for 6 p.m. at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.
