Wayne State 69 Southwest Minnesota State 47
#9 Wayne State College women used a strong defensive stance in the opening minutes of the first half to help propel the Wildcats past Southwest Minnesota State 69-47 in NSIC women's basketball action Friday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. The Wildcats have now won 23 straight games at Rice Auditorium. Senior Mara Hjelle (White Bear Lake, Minnesota) led the way for Wayne State with 20 points and six rebounds. The Wildcats are now 18-2 overall and 15-1 in the NSIC and the loss drops the Mustangs to 7-13 overall and 6-10 in the NSIC.
The Wildcats got defensive in the opening eight minutes of the first half as WSC did not allow Southwest Minnesota State a basket till the 12:19 mark of the first half. The Wildcats offense started off hot as well as Wayne State jumped out to a 17-0 lead. Junior Ali Schwartzwald led the charge for the Wildcats in the first half pouring eight points in the opening stanza. The Mustangs offense would mount a small coming back in the final ten minutes of the first half, but Wayne State managed to take a 34-22 lead into halftime.
The Wildcats added to their lead early in the second half as Wayne State would jump out to a 50-27 lead halfway through the stanza. The Wildcats would then build a lead as high as 28 in the closing minutes of the game. Junior Ashley Arlen had a solid second half for WSC pouring in eight points as the Wildcats defeated the Mustangs 69-47.
The Wildcats defense was strong holding Southwest Minnesota State to 29.0 percent from the field (18-62). Wayne State also defended the three point line as the Mustangs shot 13.3 percent from behind the arc going 2 of 15. The Wildcats also forced 19 Mustang turnovers.
Wayne State shot 46.0 percent from the field on the night going 23 of 50 from the field. WSC also shot 35.3 percent from the three point line and shot 70.8 percent from the free throw line. The Wildcats grabbed 42 rebounds on the night compared to Southwest Minnesota State's 38. Wayne State also committed 19 turnovers in the ball game.
Wayne State was led by Hjelle with 20 points and six rebounds. Hjelle was 10 of 14 from the free throw line on the night. Senior Alyssa Fischbach added 10 points and six rebounds going 5 of 8 from the field. Arlen and Schwartzwald added eight points apiece for Wayne State.
The Mustangs were led by Tori Fink with nine points on the night. Heather Smith and Abby Kenealy each added seven points. Hannah Beeler added a team-high six rebounds to go along with four points.
Wayne State will be at home again Saturday afternoon hosting Minnesota State in a 4:00 p.m. Northern Sun Conference contest.
