#4 Wayne State 63 Southwest Minnesota State 52


             Senior All-American forward Ashley Arlen recorded her ninth double-double of the season Friday evening with 22 points and 10 rebounds to power the #4 Wayne State women in a 63-52 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win at Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Minnesota.  The Wildcats move to 20-2 on the season and now take over first place in the Northern Sun Conference at 14-2 in league play coupled with Augustana's 98-95 loss at Minnesota State Friday evening.  The win also gives Wayne State its third straight 20-win season under fourth-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier and it's the program's sixth 20-win season in the last eight years.
            WSC got off to a strong start, taking an early 8-2 lead.  But the host Mustangs reeled off eight straight points and took their only lead of the night at 10-8 with 14:01 to play in the first half.  The Wildcats regained the lead with nine straight points over the next 4:23 and took a 17-10 lead at the 9:38 mark of the first half on a jumper by Alisha Brown. 
            With WSC leading 21-12, SMSU scored the next seven points and pulled within two at 21-19 with 4:28 to go in the half, but the Wildcats closed the half strong and scored the next 11 points to take a 32-19 lead at halftime.
            Wayne State put the game away early in the second half by coming out of the locker room with a 15-2 run to start the second half, taking their biggest lead of the night at 47-21 with 14:26 to go in the contest.  The Wildcats still held a 21 point lead at 54-33 with 8:26 to play but the host Mustangs did not give up and cut the lead to nine points at 58-49 with 3:12 remaining before WSC finished with the 63-52 win.
            Arlen led all scorers with her ninth double-double of the season, 22 points and 10 rebounds, to pace the Wildcats.  Seniors Clare Duwelius and Ali Schwartzwald also reached double digits with 10 points apiece.  WSC finished the contest making 25 of 60 shots for 41.7 percent.  The 'Cats were 6 of 17 from the three point line and 7 of 10 at the charity stripe.  
            Southwest Minnesota State's top scorer was Abby Kenealy with 13 points followed by Bree Holleman's 11 points.  The Mustangs were 20 of 58 from the field for 34.5 percent, making 5 of 12 three pointers.  SMSU was 7 of 9 at the foul line.
            Both teams finished the game with 38 rebounds as Arlen led Wayne State with 10 caroms and Hannah Beeler grabbed eight rebounds for the Mustangs.  SMSU had 19 turnovers to 15 on WSC.    
          The Wildcats play on the road again Saturday as Wayne State faces Minnesota State in a 4:00 p.m. contest in Mankato, Minnesota.