#17 Wayne State 79 #12 Minnesota State 64

            Wayne State College had four players in double figures and sank 26 of 29 free throws for the game as the #17 Wildcats pulled away in the second half for a 79-64 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win over #12 Minnesota State at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The host Wildcats remain unbeaten at 11-0 overall and 4-0 in the NSIC while Minnesota State falls to 6-2 on the season and 3-1 in league play.
            WSC jumped out to an early 16-6 lead at the 13:00 mark.  After MSU pulled within three at 18-15, WSC pushed the lead back to 10 at 27-17 thanks to a pair of Jaylan Spencer free throws with 5:01 to go before halftime. 
            The Mavericks then scored 12 of the next 13 points and took a 29-28 lead with 1:39 to play in the half before WSC finished the half strong to take a 33-30 lead at intermission.
            The Wildcats came out strong in the second half and never let the Mavericks a chance to get back into the game.  With WSC leading 37-34 at the 17:19 mark, the Wildcats took a 10-point lead at 48-38 on a Millie Niggeling trey with 12:19 to play.
            After MSU pulled within six at 48-42, WSC put the game out of reach scoring 14 of the next 15 points to make the Wildcat advantage 62-43 with 8:26 remaining and Wayne State maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way to finish off the Mavericks 79-64.
            Junior forward Jordan Spencer led a balanced Wildcat scoring attack with 17 points followed by Millie Niggeling's 16 off the bench.  Also reaching double digits were junior guard Ashton Yossi with 13 points and junior reserve forward Jaylan Spencer with 10.
            The Wildcats shot 49 percent for the game, making 24 of 49 shots.  WSC was 5 for 13 behind the 3-point line and an impressive 26 of 29 at the free throw stripe for a season-high 89.7 percent.
            Minnesota State's top scorer was Ali Wilkinson with 19 points followed by Lexie Ulfers with 16.  The Mavericks were 21 of 60 from the field for 35 percent, going 2 of 10 from the 3-point line and 20 of 28 at the charity stripe.
            WSC had one more rebound than MSU, 34-33.  Ellen Hansen led the Wildcats on the glass with 10 rebounds while Wilkinson had 10 caroms for the Mavericks.
            Sophomore guard Addy Roller tied a career-high with seven assists for WSC and had two steals.           
            Wayne State will be at home again Saturday against another Top 25 team, hosting #25 Concordia-St. Paul in a 4 p.m. contest at Rice Auditorium.