#18 Wayne State 60 Southwest Minnesota State 44
Senior forward Mara Hjelle scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the first half to power NCAA Division II 18th-ranked Wayne State College in a 60-44 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win over Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Minnesota Saturday evening. The Wildcats improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the NSIC with the win while SMSU is now 2-4 overall and 1-1 in league play. Hjelle's 25 points moved her to 1,002 for her career, the 14th Wildcat to reach the 1,000 point mark at WSC.
The Wildcats never trailed in the game. WSC opened up a 12-6 lead following a Mara Hjelle layup with 14:27 to play in the first half. However, the 'Cats went cold from the field and did not score a point for a stretch of 7:24, but the Wildcat defense limited the Mustangs offensively and SMSU could only get as close as one point at 12-11. Alisha Brown made two free throws with 7:03 to go in the half to put WSC in front 14-11 and the 'Cats went on to score eight of the next 10 points to take a 22-12 lead on a Hjelle jumper with 3:42 to play in the half. WSC ended the first half with a 31-20 lead.
WSC opened the second half with a 15-4 run and took their biggest lead of the game at 46-24 with 13:02 to play in the game following a fast break layup by Alyssa Fischbach. The Wildcats maintained a double digit lead the rest of the game and went on to the 60-44 win over the Mustangs.
Mara Hjelle, a 6-2 senior center from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, led Wayne State in scoring with her game-high 25 points. She was 8 of 12 from the field and 9 of 12 at the free throw line. Junior forward Ashley Arlen was the other Wildcat in double figures with 11 points. WSC finished the game making 19 of 46 shots for 41.3 percent. The Wildcats were just 2 of 12 (16%) from the three point line and 20 of 25 at the free throw stripe (80%).
For Southwest Minnesota State, Tori Fink was the lone player in double figures with 13 points. The Mustangs shot 31.5 percent from the field making 17 of 54 shots. SMSU was 6 of 14 behind the three point line and 4 of 9 at the charity stripe.
WSC won the rebounding battle over Southwest Minnesota State 40-30 thanks to a game-high 10 caroms from Alyssa Fischbach. Hjelle and Arlen added six boards apiece. Fischbach also led WSC in assists with four. The Wildcats had 20 turnovers in the game to 18 for SMSU.
Wayne State will play their first home games of the season next weekend, hosting Northern State Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and the University of Mary Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Northern Sun Conference play.
