Minnesota State 72 #2 Wayne State 65

            After rallying from an 11-point halftime deficit to take a six point lead with 10 minutes to play, Wayne State made just 3 of 15 shots down the stretch as Minnesota State came back for a 72-65 upset win over #2 Wayne State in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball played Saturday evening at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minnesota.  The host Mavericks are now 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the NSIC while the Wildcat suffer their first loss of the season (8-1) with a 2-1 league record.
            Wayne State jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead 3:17 into the contest.  After MSU stormed back to force the game's first tie at 12-12 with 12:32 to play in the half, the Wildcats used a Jordan Spencer jumper and Jasmin Bretoi 3-pointer to take a 17-12 lead.
            But Minnesota State used a pair of scoring surges to close the first half to take a sizeable 37-26 lead on the 'Cats.
            A 12-3 run for the Mavericks gave them a 24-20 lead with 4:32 to play in the half.  After an Ashton Yossi layup, Minnesota State closed the final 3:50 of the half with a 13-4 run for the 11-point lead at intermission.
            The Wildcats opened the second half with red-hot shooting from Yossi and Millie Niggeling that allowed WSC to rally quickly from the 11-point deficit to actually lead by six.
            With WSC trailing 48-42, the Wildcats used a Niggeling trey, a Spencer layup and Alex Nelson 3-pointer to even the score at 50 with 12:36 to play.
            Two free throws by freshman Paige Ballinger and sophomore Haley Moore followed by two baskets from Wayne junior Katie Hoskins gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the second half at 58-52 with 10:33 left on the clock.
            But WSC missed their next seven shots over the following 4:57 and by the time Ballinger ended the drought with a layup the 'Cats trailed 61-60 with 5:36 remaining.
            Junior guard Sadie Murren hit one of two free throws to knot the score at 63 each with 3:13 to play, but WSC would never get closer. 
            A Maggie Schulte layup at the 2:37 mark cut the Maverick lead to 66-65, but the Wildcat missed three shots to go with two turnovers down the stretch as Minnesota State went on to the 72-65 win.
            Wayne State, who was just 9 of 31 shooting in the first half, finished the game making 24 of 68 shots from the field for 35.3 percent.  The 'Cats were 8 of 23 beyond the arc and 9 for 12 at the charity stripe.
            Senior guard Ashton Yossi had 16 points and with two 3-pointers reached 200 for her career, the fifth player to make 200 career 3-pointers.  Senior forward Millie Niggeling also reached double digits with 12.  Wildcat leading scorer Jordan Spencer was limited to just eight points on 4 of 17 shooting from the field.
            Minnesota State had two players in double figures with both achieving double-doubles as Lexie Ulfers produced 20 points and 11 rebounds with Sammie Delzotto adding 19 points and 12 caroms.
            The Mavericks made 27 of 58 shots for 46.6 percent, going 8 of 15 (53%) from 3-point range and 10 of 13 at the foul stripe.
            Minnesota State won the rebounding battle over the Wildcats 43-33 as Spencer hauled in seven boards for WSC.  The Mavericks had 23 turnovers in the game to just 15 by Wayne State.  Murren had five assists to lead the Wildcats while freshman Maggie Schulte was credited with four steals.  
            Wayne State will be at home next weekend, hosting Minnesota Crookston Friday evening at 6 p.m. and Bemidji State Saturday in a 4 p.m. contest.