#23 Wayne State 68 University of Mary 60

            Wayne State College rallied from a 12-point first half deficit and overcame 27 percent shooting in the first half to outscore Mary 44-29 in the second half, giving the 23^rd-ranked Wildcats a 68-60 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win Saturday evening over the University of Mary at the McDowell Activity Center in Bismarck, North Dakota.  With the win, the Wildcats extend their win streak to 10 games and improve to 19-3 on the season and 13-3 in the NSIC while the host Marauders fall to 8-14 and 6-10 in league play.
            With the exception of an early 5-0 lead, WSC trailed the remainder of the first half as Mary took advantage of porous Wildcat shooting in the first half to build a 12 point lead at 31-19 before finishing the first half with a 31-24 lead on the Wildcats.
            Wildcat junior guard Sadie Murren gave WSC much needed momentum at the end of the first half, scoring the last five WSC points including a 3-pointer from near half court to end the first half.
            Early in the second half, Mary still held a 35-30 lead when WSC took control of the game with a 20-5 scoring run over a span of 7:17 to take a 50-40 lead.
            The 'Cats scored nine straight points after trailing 35-30 and took the lead for good on a Millie Niggeling 3-pointer with 13:32 remaining.
            After WSC took a 53-42 lead on an Alex Nelson 3-pointer with 7:35 to play, Mary got as close as six at 53-47.  But WSC pushed the lead back to double digits at 60-50 following a Jordan Spencer basket with 3:30 to play and the 'Cats pushed the lead to 13 following a pair of Murren free throws (68-55) with 54 seconds to play before finishing with the 68-60 win.
            Senior forward Jordan Spencer scored 19 points to lead Wayne State in scoring while Sadie Murren and Millie Niggeling also reached double figures with 13 and 10 respectively.
            WSC shot just 36.8 percent for the game, making 25 of 68 shots.  The 'Cats were 5 of 23 behind the arc and 13 for 15 from the foul stripe.
            Sloan Turner poured in a game-high 21 points for Mary while Dani Williams also reached double digits with 14.  The Marauders shot 39.6 percent from the field on 21 of 53 shots, going 7 for 20 from the 3-point line and 11 of 16 at the charity stripe.
            WSC had one more rebound than Mary, 40-39.  Maggie Schulte grabbed nine boards followed by Spencer with seven to lead Wayne State.  Hannah Larson led Mary on the glass with 10 caroms while Turner had nine.
            Wayne State had 16 turnovers in the game while forcing Mary into 24.  The Wildcats held a 36-24 advantage on points in the paint, 13-4 in second chance points and 14-4 in fast break points.
            Murren had five assists for the Wildcats, Spencer had a team-high five steals while Niggeling recorded four blocked shots. 
            The Wildcats will be at home next weekend, hosting MSU Moorhead Friday at 6 p.m. and #17 Northern State Saturday in a 4 p.m. contest.