#4 Wayne State 83 Minnesota State 45
#4 Wayne State College shot a sizzling 61.7 percent from the field making 29 of 47 shots as the Wildcats recorded an 83-45 dismantling of Minnesota State Saturday evening in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball played at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minnesota. The Wildcats are now 21-2 on the season and remain in first place in the Northern Sun Conference with a 15-2 league mark while the Mavericks of Minnesota State drop to 14-7 and 10-7 in league play.
The Wildcats never trailed in the contest, jumping out to an early 6-0 lead. Minnesota State got as close as one point at 13-12 with 14:06 to play in the half, but Wayne State would not let the Mavericks get any closer as the Wildcats used three pointers by Ali Schwartzwald and Ashton Yossi along with a free throw and basket by Ellen Hansen to take a 24-13 lead at the 9:50 mark of the first half.
After Minnesota State's Kirstin Nelson made a three pointer to cut the lead to 24-16, WSC put the game out of reach by scoring the next 14 points and took a 38-16 lead following an Eva Benson layup with 4:54 to go in the half as the Wildcats finished the half with a commanding 46-20 lead.
WSC made 18 of 27 shots in the first half for 66.7 percent while holding Minnesota State to just 25.8 percent shooting on 8 of 31.
The second half showed more dominance by the Wildcats as WSC continued their strong play. The 'Cats took a 31 point lead at 67-36 with 10:16 to play on a three pointer by Clare Duwelius and built a 40 point advantage at 80-40 with 4:04 to play on a layup by Ali Schwartzwald as WSC went on to the convincing 83-45 win over Minnesota State.
Senior All-American forward Ashley Arlen finished with 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting to lead the Wildcats in scoring. Senior center Eva Benson notched a career-high 16 points going perfect from the field making all eight of her shot attempts. Sophomore forward Ellen Hansen added 14 points on a perfect 5 of 5 shooting night to go with a game-high nine rebounds.
WSC finished the game making 29 of 47 shots for a scorching 61.7 percent. The 'Cats were 9 for 18 behind the three point line and 16 of 21 at the charity stripe.
Laura Weber and Aubrey Davis scored 10 points each for Minnesota State. The Mavericks were held to just 28.8 percent shooting by Wayne State, making just 17 of 59 shots. MSU was 3 of 16 from the three point line and 8 of 14 at the foul line.
WSC won the rebounding battle over Minnesota State 38-28 thanks to Ellen Hansen's nine rebounds and eight more from Jennifer Kalbfell. Senior guard Alisha Brown handed out a game-high seven assists for the Wildcats in the win.
The Wildcats play at home next weekend, hosting the University of Mary Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Northern State Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.
