#19 Wayne State 100 Southwest Minnesota State 52

            #19 Wayne State College shot 58.7 percent from the field as the Wildcats rolled to a 100-52 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win over Southwest Minnesota State at Rice Auditorium in Wayne on Senior Night.  The 14^th straight win for the Wildcats, now 23-3 and 17-3 in the NSIC, gives Wayne State at least a share of the Northern Sun Conference South Division and overall league title while the Mustangs fall to 3-21 and 3-17 in league play.
            The game was close for much of the first half until the Wildcats used a late scoring surge in the final 3:30 of the first half to take a commanding 50-29 lead at intermission.
            After WSC took an early 9-3 lead, SMSU battled back and pulled within two at 11-9.  WSC pushed the lead back to six several times until the Mustangs got as close as two at 23-21 with 8:40 to go in the half.
            SMSU was within three at 29-26 with 5:26 to go in the half when the Wildcats started to pull away.
            With WSC leading 36-29 at the 3:31 mark, the Wildcats reeled off 14 straight points to close the half to take a 50-29 lead at halftime as WSC forced 17 SMSU turnovers in the half while shooting 54.3 percent (19 of 35).
            Wayne State put the game away early in the second half by scoring the first seven points of the half as the Wildcats cruised the rest of the way in a 100-52 win over the Mustangs.
            Senior forward Jordan Spencer paced the Wildcats in scoring with 20 points on 9 of 12 shooting.  Senior guard Ashton Yossi added 18 points while freshman center Paige Ballinger and senior forward Millie Niggeling added 16 and 12 points respectively.
            Wayne State made 37 of 63 shots for 58.7 percent, going 8 of 18 from the 3-point line and 18 for 21 at the charity stripe.
            Freshman Lauren Hedlund scored 11 points for SMSU, who shot 19 of 50 from the field for 38 percent.  The Mustangs were 5 for 10 behind the arc and 9 of 11 at the free throw stripe.
            SMSU held a 31-28 advantage in rebounding over WSC thanks to five boards from Annessa Rosch while Ballinger led Wayne State on the glass with four.
            WSC forced the Mustangs into 30 turnovers compared to 10 by the Wildcats.  Yossi had six assists and four steals for WSC while Spencer added four assists and three steals.
            The Wildcats held a 46-16 advantage on points in the paint, 47-9 on points off turnovers and 22-0 in fast break points over the Mustangs.
            Wayne State will be on the road next weekend, visiting Winona State Friday at 6 p.m. and Upper Iowa Saturday at 4 p.m. to close out the NSIC regular season.