Box Score Wayne State 78  Concordia-St. Paul 68

            Wayne State College outscored Concordia-St. Paul 33-19 in the final period to propel the Wildcats over the Golden Bears 78-68 in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball play Saturday evening in St. Paul, Minnesota.  With the win, the Wildcats improve to 9-6 overall and 6-4 in the NSIC while the Golden Bears fall to 5-10 and 1-8 in league play.
            Concordia-St. Paul came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, opening up a 12-4 lead half way through the first period thanks in part to six point by Caitlyn Russell in that timeframe.  After a 3-pointer from Anna Schmitt, Concordia-St. Paul opened the lead back up to eight at 19-11 with 2:02 to play in the opening frame.  Wayne State responded with layups from Anna Martensen and Jasmin Bretoi, as well as a jumper from Kacie O'Connor to cut the Golden Bear lead to 19-17 at the end of the opening quarter.
            The second quarter started out as a back and forth affair, with neither team gaining more than a six point advantage throughout.  WSC tied the game with 5:07 to play in the half after a jumper from Paige Ballinger.  The Wildcats took their biggest lead of the half at 28-22 after another Ballinger jumper with 1:56 to play.  Going into the intermission, Wayne State held the advantage 29-25.
            Much like the second quarter, the third quarter was another close battle featuring four ties and nine lead changes.  With the score tied at 45 with 1:51 to play in the quarter, Concordia-St. Paul used two quick buckets to take the 49-45 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
            Concordia-St. Paul saw their last lead of the game at 51-50 with 8:51 to play off of an Anna Schmitt layup.  Wayne State responded with a Maggie Schulte layup to take the lead just 17 seconds later to take the 52-51 advantage with 8:34 to play that they would never relinquish.  The Golden Bears would claw back to tie the game two more times, but were never able to regain the lead in the game, as the Wildcats went on to finish the 78-68 victory.
            Wayne State was 23 of 59 from the field for 39 percent, and was 5 of 20 behind the 3-point line.  The Wildcats made 27 of 34 free throws for 49.4 percent.
            Offensively, the Wildcats were paced by sophomore center Paige Ballinger with a game high 20 points, her fourth 20 point game of the season.  Sophomore guard Kacie O'Connor was also in double figures for the 'Cats with 13 points on 4 of 6 shooting.
            Concordia-St. Paul was 25 of 71 shooting for 35.2 percent, going just 3 of 19 from behind the arc, but was 15 of 18 from the charity stripe.  Caitlyn Russell and Mishayla Jones led the Golden Bears offensively with 18 points apiece.  Anna Schmitt was also in double figures for CSP with 14 points.
            Wayne State held a 46-39 advantage in rebounding over the Golden Bears with Anna Martensen hauling in a game-high nine boards for the Wildcats while O'Connor grabbed seven.
            The Wildcats turned the ball over 22 times, five more than the Golden Bears, but Wayne State was able to score 26 points off of those turnovers to just 17 by Concordia-St. Paul.  Senior guard Sadie Murren dished out eight of the 'Cats 20 assists in the game.
            Wayne State returns home to the friendly confines of Rice Auditorium next weekend, hosting Minnesota Duluth Friday night at 6 p.m. and St. Cloud State Saturday in a 4 p.m. contest.