#8 Wayne State 50 MSU Moorhead 61

A difficult night offensively put the #8 Wayne State women into a deficit they couldn't overcome, falling 61-50 to MSU Moorhead on Saturday night at Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Neb. The Wildcats finished the night shooting just 35.4 percent from the floor, unable to overcome a 16-point, second half deficit. With the win, MSU Moorhead improves to 16-8 overall, 12-8 in Northern Sun play, while the Wildcats fall to 24-3, 17-3 in the conference.
 
            The Wildcats found themselves trailing early due largely to poor shooting. WSC started the night 1-8 from the floor, not converting a field goal until eight minutes into the game. WSC's first four points came via the charity stripe, as Addy Roller sank four straight to match a pair of layups from MSU Moorhead and knot the game 4-4 with 14:11 remaining in the first half.
 
            Millie Niggeling hit the first field goal of the game for WSC, a jumper to mirror Savanna Handevidt's layup and again knot the game, 6-6 with 12:17 to play. Back-to-back three pointers from Niggeling and Kara Powell pushed WSC ahead for the first time in the game, taking a 12-8 lead with 9:20 to play. Another drought­—this time failing to convert on five straight trips—pulled MSUM back to within a bucket.
 
            A pair of Yossi trifectas, along with jumpers by Niggeling and Jordan Spencer provided the final 10 points of the half for the Wildcats. Again, however, the Dragons kept pace, converting on a pair of free throws and scoring on three of four trips down the court to trail by just four at half, 22-18 advantage Wildcats.
 
            Neither team shot well in the opening half, with Wayne State finishing the half 7-20 (35 percent) while the Dragons shot 23.5 percent, 8-34 from the floor. The Wildcats also found themselves on the negative side of a 27-13 deficit on the boards in the opening half.
 
            The first 15 minutes of the second half belonged to Minnesota State Moorhead, as they took their first lead with 15:40 to play, scoring eight of the first ten points of the second half. The wildcats again opened the half with poor shooting, going just 1-6 from the floor in the first six minutes of the frame.
 
            A Niggeling three-point play, converting a layup and draining her ensuing free throw with 13:41 to play slowed the MSUM charge. But the Dragons would go on a 15-2 run, eating up six minutes of game time to take a 46-30 lead with 8:13 to play. Six missed buckets and a pair of turnovers took away scoring opportunities from the Wildcats.
 
            Four straight free throws (a pair each by Niggeling and Addy Roller) to go along with a pair of forced turnovers helped the Wildcats cut the deficit to 46-34 with 7:02 remaining in the game. WSC continued to push, offsetting a pair of layups from Morgan Zabel with three pointers from Niggeling and Roller to continue to close the gap to 50-40 with 4:05 to play.
 
            Another Yossi layup, along with a pair of jumpers from Niggeling and a Jordan Spencer layup brought the WSC deficit to just six points, trailing 54-48 with 55 seconds to play. After a WSC timeout, however, the Dragons closed out the game by scoring eight of the final ten points, extending their margin back to 61-50.
 
            Millie Niggeling led the Wildcats, finishing 7-11 from the floor for 19 total points. Jordan Spencer added 11, while Addy Roller and Ashton Yossi tossed in 9 and 8, respectively. For the Dragons, Megan Strese (19), Morgan Zabel (16) and Heather Strese (10) paced the offense in the win.
 
            WSC shot 35.4 percent from the floor, finishing 17-48. The Wildcats nearly matched the percentage from beyond the arc, shooting 35.3 percent (6-17.)
 
            MSU Moorhead held a 49-26 advantage on the boards, including pulling down a 20-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. The Dragons also won the battle in the paint and on second chance points, holding a 32-14 edge in the paint and a 19-4 advantage in 2^nd chance points.
 
            The Wildcats close out the regular season next weekend visiting Winona State Friday evening at 6 p.m. and Upper Iowa Saturday at 4 p.m.