#2 Wayne State 60 Concordia-St. Paul 57

            Wayne State used double-doubles from senior forward Jordan Spencer and freshman forward Maggie Schulte while senior guard Ashton Yossi made the most of her five points with five clutch free throws in the final 47 seconds as the #2 Wildcats edged Concordia-St. Paul 60-57 in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball Friday evening in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Gangelhoff Center.  The Wildcats snap a four-game losing streak vs. the Golden Bears with the win and improves to 8-0 and 2-0 in the NSIC while Concordia-St. Paul slips to 4-3 and 0-1 in the league.
            The game was a tight battle from start to finish with 19 lead changes and eight ties between the two clubs. 
            After Concordia-St. Paul took an early 9-5 lead, WSC used a 12-2 run over the next 4:04 to take a 17-11 lead thanks a 3-pointer from Sadie Murren and eight straight points from Spencer.  The Golden Bears responded with a 9-2 run and took a 20-19 lead at the 5:52 mark of the first half following two free throws by Voneisha Harris.
            With the score tied at 23, WSC used a pair of Alex Nelson free throws, a Murren 3-pointer and two baskets from Spencer to give the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game at 31-23 with 1:57 to play before halftime.
            The Golden Bears then used a pair of treys from Ameisha Kearney to get within 31-29 at intermission.
            The second half proved to be a nail-biter as neither team held a lead of more than three points until the final 12 seconds of the game while exchanging five ties and 10 lead changes alone in the final 20 minutes.
            Wayne State led 45-42 following a Maggie Schulte 3-pointer with 8:30 remaining, but the Golden Bears came back and took their final three point lead of the game at 52-49 with 3:57 to play.
            The Wildcats used baskets from Spencer and Schulte to take regain the lead at 53-52, but CU responded and took their final lead at 54-53 with 1:06 remaining on a Anika Whiting layup.
            In the final minute, the Wildcats clinched the win making seven of eight free throws to earn the win.
            Senior guard Ashton Yossi, scoreless until the final 47 seconds of the game, made a pair of charity tosses to give the 'Cats the lead for good at 55-54. 
            Following a CU turnover, junior guard Sadie Murren was fouled and drained two free throws for a 57-54 advantage with 21 seconds left.  After the Golden Bears made one of two free throws to pull within two at 57-55, Yossi was fouled and canned two more free throws with 12 seconds left for a 59-55 cushion. 
            Concordia's Amanda Barton got an offensive rebound on a Golden Bear miss and hit two free throws with two seconds left to make the score 59-57.  Yossi was fouled on the inbounds pass with 0.9 seconds to play and made the first of two free throws to seal the 60-57 win for Wayne State. 
            Spencer led WSC in scoring with 19 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.  15 of her 19 points came in the first half.  Schulte followed with her first career double-double accounting for 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.  Junior guard Sadie Murren contributed eight points and a season-high six assists in the win.
            Wayne State shot just 32.3 percent from the field on 20 of 62 shooting.  The 'Cats were 7 for 19 behind the 3-point line and 13 for 16 at the charity stripe.
            Concordia-St. Paul had four double figure scorers with Amanda Barton's 17 points leading the way.  Anika Whiting had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Ameshia Kearney and Mishayla Jones each scoring 12.
            The Golden Bears were 19 of 61 from the field for 31.1 percent.  CU was 7 for 26 beyond the arc and 12 of 17 from the free throw line.
            Wayne State held a slim 45-43 advantage in rebounding over Concordia-St. Paul thanks to 12 rebounds each from Schulte and Spencer while freshman Paige Ballinger had five.  WSC had 15 turnovers in the game, two more than Concordia-St. Paul.  Murren and Ashton Yossi each handed out six assists while Ballinger and Spencer each had two blocked shots for the Wildcats.
            The Wildcats will be in action again Saturday evening playing Minnesota State in a 5 p.m. NSIC contest at Mankato, Minnesota.