Box Score Wayne State 65 Jamestown 56

            Wayne State College led from start to finish, but had to hold off a fourth quarter rally by the University of Jamestown, to defeat the Jimmies 65-56 Friday afternoon at the Radison Hotel MSP North Women's Basketball Classic in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The Wildcats improve to 4-1 on the year with the win while the contest was an exhibition game for 5-2 Jamestown.
             The Wildcats got into early foul trouble in the contest and called on the bench to provide a spark as 12 of Wayne State's 19 first quarter points were scored by reserves.
            Sophomore reserve forward Andrea Larson poured in nine points off the bench while freshman Amanda Brainerd drained a 3-pointer that boosted the Wildcats to a 19-8 lead after one quarter.  WSC ended the quarter scoring the final 10 points in the final 2:44 to take their first double digit lead.
            Jamestown got within five at 23-18 with 5:23 to play second quarter before the Wildcats used a pair of Anna Martensen layups to end the half putting the Wildcats in front 33-24 at intermission.
            The third quarter saw WSC outscore Jamestown 17-11, thanks to an 11-4 run late in the quarter, that gave the Wildcats a 50-35 lead after three quarters.  A three-point play by Larson gave WSC its biggest lead of the game at 50-32 with 1:41 to play in the quarter.
            WSC still held a 15-point lead at 52-37 with 9:15 remaining when the Jimmies made a rally on the Wildcats.  Jamestown got as close at 56-50 with 3:29 to play, but the Wildcats responded with a pair of Haley Moore free throws and a Kacie O'Connor 3-pointer to back up 61-50 and WSC used 4 of 6 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the 65-56 victory.
            The Wildcats ended the game making 24 of 57 shots for 42.1 percent, including 2 of 6 from the 3-point line.  WSC was only 15 for 28 (53.6%) at the free throw line.
            Larson led Wayne State in scoring with a career-high 16 points off the bench, going 7 for 12 from the field but just 2 of 7 at the charity stripe.  Martensen also reached double figures with 13 points and led WSC on the glass with nine caroms while Kacie O'Connor added 10 points, all in the second half.
            Jamestown finished the game making 22 of 61 shots (36.1%) thanks to 10 of 15 shooting (66.7%) in the fourth quarter.  The Jimmies were just 3 of 20 from behind the arc and 9 for 14 at the foul line.
            Kyra Dewald led the Jimmies in scoring with 16 points while Alexis Watts and Taylor Hammer also reached double digits with 12 and 10 respectively.
            Jamestown held a 42-38 advantage in rebounding over WSC with Hammer hauling in eight boards for the Jimmies while Martensen had nine for the Wildcats followed by Larson with seven.  WSC held a 40-30 edge on points in the paint and 13-6 in second chance points.
            WSC forced 18 turnovers on Jamestown while the Wildcats had 14.  O'Connor and Moore each had five assists for the Wildcats while Martensen notched a career-high six steals.  Paige Ballinger had four of WSC's seven blocks.
            The Wildcats will play again Saturday afternoon in the Radison Hotel MSP North Classic in St. Paul, Minnesota battling Concordia-Portland (Ore.) in a 12 p.m. contest.