Box Score Wayne State 72  Minnesota State 63

            Wayne State College junior forward Anna Martensen posted a season high 14 points along with 10 rebounds to record her third double-double of the season to lead the Wildcats in a 72-63 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win Friday evening over Minnesota State in Mankato, Minnesota.  The Wildcats improve to 8-6 overall and 5-4 in the NSIC with the win while the Mavericks drop to 4-8 and 3-5 in the league.
            Much like the first meeting between the two squads, the Wildcats never trailed in the contest.  WSC took a 12-4 lead in the first four minutes of the game thanks to a Haley Moore 3-pointer along with baskets from Martensen, Paige Ballinger, and Maggie Schulte.
            Another trey from Moore extended the Wildcat lead 11 points at 19-8 with 2:08 to play in the opening quarter.  Minnesota State answered with a 3-pointer of their own from Logan Anderson on their next possession to cut the lead back to eight at 19-11 at the end of the first quarter.
            Wayne State came out the aggressor, once again in the second quarter, using a 15-8 run through the first 7:55 of the period to extend the lead to 34-19 with 2:05 to play in the half.  Minnesota State was able to keep the Wildcats scoreless for the remainder of the half, while chipping the Wildcat lead down to 34-23 going into the intermission.
            The second half started off fairly even, before WSC used a 15-5 run over six minutes of play to take their largest lead of the game at 51-32 with 2:21 remaining in the third quarter.  The Wildcats were able to maintain their advantage, holding a 56-38 lead after three quarters.
            The Wildcats maintained their double digit lead for almost all of the fourth quarter, before finishing with the 72-63 win.
            Wayne State was 29 of 66 from the field for 43.9 percent, and was 5 of 16 (31.3%) behind the 3-point line.  The Wildcats made 9 of 15 free throws for 60 percent.
            Martensen's double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds paced Wayne State offensively.  The junior forward was 7 of 13 from the field.  Senior guard Sadie Murren also had a solid night offensively with 14 points while dishing out eight assists.  Junior guard Haley Moore (11) and sophomore forward Maggie Schulte (10) also reached double digits for the 'Cats.
            Minnesota State was 24 of 60 shooting for 40 percent, going just 3 of 14 behind the arc and 12 for 18 at the charity stripe.  Clair Ziegler led the Mavericks in scoring with a game high 24 points followed by Britney Scherber with 15.
            Wayne State held a 43-39 advantage on the boards over the Mavericks with Martensen hauling in a game-high 10 caroms for the Wildcats while Schulte grabbed eight.
            The Wildcats forced the Mavericks into 22 turnovers, three less than WSC.  Murren handed out eight of Wayne State's 16 assists in the game while Moore was credited with four of Wayne State's 12 steals.  Ballinger also had five of the Wildcat's six blocks in the contest.
            Wayne State is on the road again tomorrow night, visiting Concordia-St. Paul Saturday night in a 4 p.m. contest in St. Paul, Minnesota.