#23 Wayne State 81 Minot State 71

            Seniors Ashton Yossi and Jordan Spencer combined for 42 points and Wayne State College sank 13 3-pointers as the 23^rd-ranked Wildcats pulled away late for an 81-71 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win Friday evening over Minot State at the Minot Dome in Minot, North Dakota.  WSC has now won nine straight games and improved to 18-3 overall and 12-3 in the NSIC while the host Beavers fall to 9-12 and 4-11 in league play. 
            The first half was a back and forth contest that featured six ties and nine lead changes.  With the score tied at 12, Wayne State scored the next nine points on a pair of Jordan Spencer baskets, a Kacie O'Connor 3-pointer and Alex Nelson layup to take a 21-12 lead with 10:12 to play in the first half.
            WSC was then held scoreless for the next 4:30, but still held a 23-19 lead following two Ashton Yossi free throws at the 5:34 mark of the first half. 
            With the Wildcats leading 29-24, the host Beavers scored six straight points to re-gain the lead at 30-29 with 1:51 to play in the half.  After exchanging several leads, WSC used a Yossi trey with nine seconds to play in the first half to grab a 37-34 lead at intermission.
            The second half remained close until the Wildcats started to pull away midway through the second half as WSC used a steady dose of 3-point shots to slowly pull away from Minot State for the double digit win.
            Minot State took its last lead of the night at 42-41 with 14:59 remaining on an Ashley Sansaver layup. 
            WSC held a slim two point lead at 50-48 with 11:17 to play when the Wildcats started to separate themselves from the Beavers as Yossi scored eight straight points on a 3-pointer, jumper and 3-pointer to give WSC a 58-49 lead with 9:47 left.  Yossi's scoring spree started a 15-3 run in a span of 6:08, giving WSC a 65-51 lead with 5:09 to play. 
            The Wildcats pushed the lead to 17 points with 2:12 to play (78-61) before finishing with the 81-71 win.
            Senior guard Ashton Yossi paced Wayne State in scoring with 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting.  She moved into ninth place on the WSC all-time scoring list with 1,290 points, moving past Mary Schnitzler (1,273 pts from 1989-93) and Amy Brodersen Riggs (1,281 pts from 1993-97) into the top 10 all-time scoring list at WSC. 
            Senior forward Jordan Spencer added 20 points, her seventh game this season with 20 or more points, on 7 of 9 shooting from the field.  The Millard West graduate also moved past Schnitzler and Brodersen Riggs on the WSC scoring list and currently sits at 1,284 points to rank 10^th all-time.
            Junior guard Sadie Murren also reached double figures for the Wildcats with 13 points, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
            WSC shot an even 50 percent from the field making 27 of 54 shots.  It was the eighth game this season the 'Cats shot 50 percent or better from the field.  Wayne State was 13 of 30 from behind the arc and made 14 of 17 free throws.
            Katie Hardy led Minot State in scoring with 17 points followed by Sarah Lester (13), Savana Kingsbury (12) and Christina Boag (10).  The Beavers also shot 50 percent in the game on 26 of 52.  MISU was 5 for 12 behind the 3-point line and 14 of 19 at the charity stripe.
            Wayne State out-rebounded Minot State 32-28 thanks to seven boards each from Paige Ballinger and Spencer. 
            The Wildcats handed out 21 assists in the win with Yossi handing out six while Spencer and Murren were each credited with four assists.  Both teams had 16 turnovers in the game. 
            Wayne State will be in action again Saturday afternoon playing at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota starting at 4 p.m.