#17 Wayne State 75 Newman (Kansas) 64
Wayne State College used hot shooting early in the second half to build a lead and pull away from Newman University 75-64 in non-conference women's college basketball played Friday afternoon in Wichita, Kansas. The 17th-ranked Wildcats close out their non-conference schedule with a 3-1 record while the host Jets fall to 5-2 on the season.
Wayne State trailed nearly the entire first half, holding the lead just once at 6-5 with 17:32 to play in the half following a Mara Hjelle basket. Newman University then reeled off the next seven points to take a 12-6 lead with 16:17 remaining in the first half. The host Jets held a pair of seven point leads in the first half at 18-11 with 10:58 left and 31-24 with 3:32 remaining following a Bobbi Coleman three pointer. Capped by a Mara Hjelle jumper with 1:02 to play in the half, the Wildcats cut Newman's lead to 36-33 at halftime.
The Wildcats shot just 36 percent (10 of 28) in the first half, but stayed close due to the play of Hjelle, who poured in 17 first half points making 7 of 10 shots from the field and 3 of 4 from the free throw stripe.
Wayne State opened the second half with torrid shooting, making 6 of their first 8 shots from the field, as the Wildcats built a double digit lead and maintained that lead for a majority of the second half as Wayne State went on to the win. With WSC trailing 42-41 with 17:00 remaining, Wildcat senior backup guard Renee Wood sank a pair of three pointers and a jumper in a span of 1:23 to give Wayne State a 50-42 lead. After Newman pulled within three at 50-47, the Wildcats then used seven straight points from Ashley Arlen on a three pointer, two free throws and a jumper, putting WSC back up 57-47 with 10:28 remaining.
Senior center Mara Hjelle paced Wayne State with her second double-double of the season accounting for 22 points and 10 rebounds with 17 of her points coming in the first half. Senior reserve guard Renee Wood contributed a career-high 17 points with 12 coming in the second half while junior forward Ashley Arlen produced 15 points in the win. Wayne State shot 24 of 57 from the field for 42.1 percent, making 6 of 22 shots behind the three point line. The 'Cats were 21 of 30 (70%) at the charity stripe.
For Newman University, Philicia Kelly and Tasha Cannon accounted for 14 points apiece with Bobbi Coleman scoring 12. The Jets hit 24 of 64 shots from the field for 37.5 percent, making 5 of 20 three point shots and 11 of 19 from the free throw line.
Wayne State outrebounded Newman University 44-37 thanks to 12 rebounds by senior forward Alyssa Fischbach and 10 from Hjelle while Newman's Tasha Cannon hauled in a game-high 14 boards for the Jets. WSC had a season-low 11 turnovers while Newman finished with 10.
Wayne State will open Northern Sun Conference play on the road next weekend, visiting #25 Minnesota State Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in Mankato followed by a Saturday night visit to Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
