#22 Wayne State 67 Southwest Minnesota State 50

            Wayne State's bench scored 31 of 38 first half points and the Wildcats got a career-high 19 points from junior reserve center Millie Niggeling as #22 Wayne State College posted a 67-50 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win Saturday evening over Southwest Minnesota State at the R/A Facility in Marshall, Minnesota.  The Wildcats remain unbeaten on the season at 10-0 overall and 3-0 in the NSIC while the host Mustangs fall to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in league play.
            The Wildcats started slowly, trailing 11-5 early to SMSU with 13:33 to play in the first half.  That's when the Wildcat bench spelled the starting unit and propelled a rally that gave WSC the lead for good.
            Niggeling scored six straight points and two free throws from junior reserve center Jaylan Spencer knotted the score at 13-13 with 10:34 to go in the half.  WSC then went on a 12-2 run, ignited by a pair of treys from sophomore backup guard Whitney Olson, putting the 'Cats in front 25-15 with 7:20 remaining.
            WSC built a 13 point advantage in the first half at 38-23 with 2:53 to go in the half before the Wildcats ended with a 38-28 lead at intermission.
            SMSU slowly crawled back into the game early in the second half until the Wildcats used a scoring run midway through the second half to pull away for the win.
            The Mustangs got as close as four at 46-42 with 11:40 to play following a jumper from Allison Nagel.  Wayne State then put the game out of reach with an 11-2 run over the 5:13 and took a comfortable 57-44 lead on a pair of Ashton Yossi free throws with 6:27 left.  WSC never let SMSU closer than 11 points the rest of the way and the Wildcats went on to the 67-50 win over the Mustangs.
            Junior reserve center Millie Niggeling led Wayne State in scoring with a career-high 19 points off the bench, going 8 for 11 from the field and 2 of 4 at the free throw line.  Junior forward Jordan Spencer contributed 11 points while junior reserve forward Jaylan Spencer added 10 points off the bench as the Wildcat reserves scored 39 points in the win.
            Wayne State finished the game making 24 of 51 shots for 47 percent, going just 4 for 16 from the 3-point line.  The 'Cats were 15 of 24 at the free throw stripe.
            Allison Nagel was the lone double figure scorer for Southwest Minnesota State with 17 points.  The Mustangs were 23 of 54 from the field for 42.6 percent.  SMSU was 1 of 10 from behind the arc and only 3 of 6 at the foul line.
            Wayne State held a 34-31 edge in rebounding over the Mustangs thanks to nine rebounds from Jaylan Spencer and six by Ellen Hansen.  The 'Cats had 13 turnovers in the game while forcing SMSU into 19.  Sophomore guard Addy Roller matched a career-high with seven assists for WSC and also had two steals along with Jaylan Spencer.
            The Wildcats return home to Rice Auditorium next weekend, hosting #13 Minnesota State Friday evening at 6 p.m. and #21 Concordia-St. Paul Saturday at 4 p.m.