Augustana 68 #15 Wayne State 60

            Wayne State College shot just 30 percent from the field in the second half (9-30) as the 15^th-ranked Wildcats fell at home to Augustana College 68-60 Saturday evening in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  WSC drops to 9-3 overall and 3-3 in the NSIC while Augustana improves to 9-4 and 3-3 in league play.
            The Vikings stormed out of the gate quickly, taking a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game.  Wayne State used 3-point shooting to get back into the contest as freshman Maggie Schulte, senior Ashton Yossi and freshman Alex Nelson each drained treys to help the Wildcats gain momentum, then back-to-back 3-pointers from Yossi gave the Wildcats their first lead at 19-16 with 9:19 to play in the half. 
            The rest of the first half was tightly contested with the two teams trading six leads to go with four first half ties as Augustana finished with a 35-34 advantage at intermission.
            Augustana opened the second half similar to the first, pushing the lead back up to 10 points at 47-37 with 14:55 to play in the game. 
            And just like the first half, Wayne State mounted a rally and got within one at 50-49 with 9:37 to play on a Maggie Schulte jumper.
            But Augustana scored the next seven points to take a 58-49 lead.  Wayne State went 5:30 without a basket until a Jordan Spencer layup pulled WSC within five at 58-53 with 4:07 remaining.
            Augustana put the game out of reach by scoring five of the next seven points for a 65-55 lead with 1:00 remaining as the Vikings finished with a 68-60 win.
            Senior guard Ashton Yossi led WSC in scoring with 16 points going, 4 for 9 from the 3-point line and 4 for 4 at the charity stripe.  Freshman Maggie Schulte and senior Jordan Spencer each added 11 points in the contest.
            WSC made 20 of 56 shots from the field for 35.7 percent.  After making 7 of 15 3-pointers in the first half, the 'Cats made just 3 for 16 behind the arc in the second half to finish the game 10 of 31 from 3-point range.  WSC was 10 of 11 at the charity stripe.
            Senior guard Shaunteva Ashley scored a game-high 28 points for Augustana on 11 of 15 shooting from the field.  Nicole Kerkhoff also reached double figures for the Vikings with 14 points.
            Augustana was 27 of 62 from the field for 43.5 percent, going 5 of 15 from the 3-point line.  The Vikings were 9 for 15 at the free throw line.
            The Vikings finished with a 40-34 edge in rebounding over the Wildcats thanks to eight rebounds by Paige Peterson.  Wayne State's top rebounder was Spencer with eight.
            WSC had 21 turnovers, the second-most this season in a game.  Spencer had four assists to lead WSC while Yossi finished with a team-high three steals.
            Wayne State is off for the Christmas break and resumes play on Friday, January 2^nd when the Wildcats visit Southwest Minnesota State in a 6 p.m. game at Marshall, Minnesota.