#10 Wayne State 70 Winona State 64 OT
Senior All-American forward Ashley Arlen notched her eighth double-double of the season with 21 points and 16 rebounds while senior guard Clare Duwelius became the 16th player in WSC women's basketball history to score 1,000 points as the 10th-ranked Wildcats escaped Winona, Minnesota Friday evening with a 70-64 overtime win over the Warriors at McCown Gymnasium. WSC remains tied for first place in the NSIC with Augustana at 10-2 in league play and 16-2 overall while snapping Winona State's four-game win streak as the Warriors drop to 11-7 and 6-6 in the NSIC.
The first half was a see-saw battle that featured scoring runs by both teams with three ties and seven lead changes. WSC jumped out to an early 11-2 lead following a Whitney Epp basket at the 15:34 mark. With WSC leading 13-5, Winona State scored nine straight points and took a 14-13 lead on a pair of Michelle McDonald free throws with 9:31 to play in the first half. WSC battled back and used back-to-back three pointers by freshman guard Ashton Yossi to take a 24-19 lead with 5:31 to go in the half. Then Winona State closed the half strong and used a Marieanna Dulas three pointer with 1:37 left before halftime to take a 31-28 lead at halftime.
Winona State's Beth Alberson drained a three pointer to start the second half for the host Warriors to give them their biggest lead of the game at 34-28. WSC then scored the next six points to even the score at 34-34. But the 'Cats trailed a majority of the second half until a rally in the final five minutes that forced overtime.
Trailing 52-48 with 6:22 to play, the Wildcats began their rally. A three pointer by Clare Duwelius with 3:49 left knotted the score at 54-54 and a three point play by Eva Benson gave the Wildcats a 57-54 lead with 1:43 to go. Winona State then used a three point play by McDonald and a jumper by Dulas with 18 seconds left to take a 59-57 lead. Wayne State's Ashley Arlen converted a layup with 7.4 seconds remaining to forge a 59-59 tie and send the game into overtime.
WSC scored on their first two possessions of overtime and never relinquished the lead as the 'Cats made 7 of 8 free throws in the extra session to record the 70-64 win. An Ashley Arlen layup and two free throws by Eva Benson put WSC in front 63-59 with 3:17 to play in overtime. Winona State pulled within two at 63-61 on a Michelle McDonald basket, but an Ashley Arlen free throw and a layup by Alisha Brown with 1:13 left in the extra session put WSC up 66-61. Brown sealed the win by making four free throws down the stretch to finish with Wayne State's last seven points in overtime as Wayne State picked up the 70-64 win.
Arlen led Wayne State with her 21 points and 16 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Senior center Eva Benson matched her season-high with 13 points followed by Ashton Yossi with 11 off the bench. Clare Duwelius scored nine points on three of five shooting from the three point line and moved past the 1,000 point mark in her Wildcat career, giving her 1,006 points. Senior reserve guard Alisha Brown added eight points and handed out seven assists in the win.
WSC made 26 of 54 shots from the field for 48.1 percent, making 7 of 20 from the three point line and 11 of 13 at the free throw stripe.
Michelle McDonald paced Winona State with 22 points while Becca Friestleben added 20. The Warriors shot 33.8 percent from the field on 24 of 71 shooting including 10 of 32 behind the three point stripe. Winona State was 6 of 6 at the free throw line.
WSC held a 42-35 advantage in rebounding over the Warriors thanks to Arlen's game-high 16 rebounds while Ellen Hansen added eight caroms. Winona State's top rebounders were Michelle Tobin and Michelle McDonald with six apiece.
The Wildcats will visit Upper Iowa Saturday evening in a Northern Sun Conference matchup beginning at 6:00 p.m.
