#10 Wayne State 76 Upper Iowa 62
Wayne State College used a balanced scoring attack with four players reaching double figures as the 10th-ranked Wildcats defeated Upper Iowa 76-62 in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball played Saturday evening at Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa. The Wildcats are now 17-2 overall and remain tied for first in the NSIC along with Augustana at 11-2 in league play while Upper Iowa falls to 1-16 overall and 1-12 in the NSIC this season.
The host Peacocks battled with Wayne State in the first half that featured three ties and nine lead changes. An Ali Schwartzwald three pointer gave WSC a 12-11 lead with 13:14 to play in the first half, but Upper Iowa scored the next eight points and took a 19-12 lead with 10:06 remaining in the half on a Lyndsay Westgaard jumper. The Wildcats came back and forced the game's third tie at 25-25 and took a six point lead at 35-29 before finishing the first half with a 38-33 lead.
Upper Iowa stayed close with WSC for the first 4:00 of the second half until the Wildcats slowly pulled away. With WSC leading 42-35 at the 16:31 mark, the 'Cats used a jumper by Ashley Arlen and a jumper and three pointer by Clare Duwelius to take a 14 point lead at 49-35. WSC maintained a double digit lead the rest of the night, taking several leads of 21 points before settling for the 76-62 win over Upper Iowa.
Senior guard Clare Duwelius led a balanced scoring effort for WSC with 18 points. Her four three pointers in the contest moves her into a second place tie on the WSC all-time list with Ashley Arndorfer (2002-06) with 216. Senior All-American forward Ashley Arlen added 14 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists to go with three blocks. Senior guard Ali Schwartzwald contributed 13 points and five assists while freshman reserve guard Ashton Yossi was 4 of 8 from the three point line off the bench for 12 more points.
Wayne State shot 51.8 percent from the field, making 29 of 56 shots. The 'Cats made a season-high 13 three pointers on 29 attempts for 44.8 percent and were just 5 of 11 at the foul line.
Upper Iowa's top scorer was Jeri Jacobson with 23 points followed Whitney Kieffer with 15 points. The Peacocks made 23 of 54 shots from the field for 42.6 percent including 4 of 10 behind the three point line. UIU was 12 of 17 at the charity stripe.
The Peacocks held a slim 32-30 advantage in rebounding over WSC thanks to nine rebounds from Jacobson while Ellen Hansen and Arlen each corralled seven boards for the Wildcats. WSC was credited with a season-best 24 assists while making 15 turnovers with Upper Iowa notching 11 assists and 16 turnovers in the contest.
Wayne State will be at home next weekend, hosting St. Cloud State Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. and Concordia-St. Paul Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.
