#6 Wayne State 76 Newman 67
Ashley Arlen and Clare Duwelius combined for 47 points and hit several clutch three pointers in the second half to lead #6 Wayne State in a 76-67 win over Newman University of Kansas Tuesday evening in non-conference women's basketball played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. The battle showcased two undefeated teams with Wayne prevailing and raising their perfect record to 5-0 while Newman falls to 4-1 on the season. It was also Wayne State's 30th straight home win at Rice Auditorium dating back to the last game of the 2008-09 season.
Wayne State started the scoring before the tipoff even took place as there was an administrative technical on Newman for not having their starters in the scorebook before the game started. Ali Schwartzwald calmly netted both free throws to give Wayne a 2-0 advantage with 20:00 still on the clock. Wayne State built the biggest lead of the game 21-11 with 10:36 remaining in the first half but Newman quickly erased that deficit with an 11-0 run to take a 22-21 lead with 07:42 remaining in the half. The two teams exchanged leads the rest of the half and Satoria Bell converted on a layup with four seconds left in the first half to give the Jets a 32-30 halftime lead over the Wildcats.
Newman shot 40.0 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from three point range and did not attempt any free throws in the first half. WSC shot 42.9 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from behind the arc and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe in the first half. The Jets had two players in double-figures in the first half as Kianna Flannagan poured in 13 and Satoria Bell contributed 11 while the Wildcats were spear-headed by Ashley Arlen with nine points and Clare Duwelius had six.
Duwelius quickly gave the Wildcats the lead back by drilling a three pointer just 15 seconds into the second half. A back-and-fourth game ensued for the rest of the contest with no team holding a lead bigger than nine. Clutch three point shooting by both teams made for an exciting second half as Duwelius tied a career-high with six three pointers in the contest and four of those came in the second half giving her 14 second half points. Arlen poured in 16 second half points, including two three pointers, to help guide the Wildcats to the win. WSC shot 55.6 percent from the field in the second half, 50.0 percent from downtown and 76.9 percent from the free throw line while NU shot 44.8 percent in the second half, 62.5 from behind the arc and 80.0 percent from the free throw stripe.
For the game, the Wildcats shot 50.0 percent from the field making 24 of 48 shots. The 'Cats were 10 of 22 from the three point line and 18 of 25 (72%) from the free throw line. The Jets shot 42.2 percent from the field (27 of 64), 60.0 percent from downtown (9 of 15) and 80.0 percent (4 of 5) from the charity stripe.
Ashley Arlen led the scoring attack for Wayne State with 27 points and snared 11 rebounds for her third double-double in five games this season. Clare Duwelius was the only other Wildcat in double-digits with 20 points while Jennifer Kalbfell chipped in nine points and Ellen Hansen had eight points to go with six assists. Arlen also led the team in rebounds with 11 and blocks with two while Hansen and Ali Schwartzwald were tied for the lead in assists with six.
The Jets were led by Satoria Bell scoring 22 points, her fourth 20 point performance in five games, and Kianna Flannagan contributed 20 points of her own while Alex Adekunle was the other Jet in double-figures with 15 points.
Wayne State will close out the non-conference schedule at home Saturday afternoon in a 4:00 p.m. contest vs. William Penn University at Rice Auditorium.
