Box Score Minnesota Duluth 64 Wayne State 52

            Wayne State College shot just 6 of 26 in the second half as Minnesota Duluth defeated the Wildcats 64-52 in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball Saturday evening at Romano Gymnasium in Duluth, Minnesota.  The Wildcats drop to 15-6 and 10-6 in the NSIC while UMD beats WSC for the first time in the last eight meetings dating back to 2009 and is now 12-8 and 10-6 in league play.
            The Wildcats started the game making shots, going 8 of 14 in the first quarter, as Wayne State took a 19-14 lead after one quarter of play.
            Wayne State's last lead came at 25-22 on Anna Martensen's layup with 7:53 to play second quarter. 
            UMD then took the lead for good scoring the next nine points, going in front 31-25.  WSC closed the first half with a pair of Paige Ballinger baskets to close within 31-29 at intermission.
            WSC tied the score at 31-31 on the first possession of the second half on a pair of Maggie Schulte free throws.  But the 'Cats went ice cold shooting from the floor, going just 2 of 12 in the third quarter, as UMD built a nine point lead (48-39) before finishing the third quarter with a 48-41 lead.
            Wayne State got as close as four at 50-46 early in the fourth quarter on a Schulte trey with 8:03 to play.  But UMD responded with the next four points to push the lead back to eight and the 'Cats never got closer than six the rest of the game as the Bulldogs finished with a 64-52 win.
            The Wildcats were just 17 for 47 from the field for 36.2 percent.  WSC was 2 of 12 behind the arc and 16 of 18 (88.9%) at the free throw stripe.
            Ballinger led WSC with a double-double, recording 20 points and 11 rebounds.  She was 5 of 11 from the field and perfect 10 for 10 at the charity stripe.  Schulte also hit double digits with 14 points.
            Minnesota Duluth made 24 of 54 shots for 44.4 percent, going 7 of 15 from the 3-point line and 9 for 10 at the free throw line.
            Taylor Meyer scored a game-high 21 points to pace UMD in scoring while Anna Monke and Emma Boehm also reached double figures with 15 and 10 points respectively. 
            UMD held a slight 32-29 advantage in rebounding.  Ballinger hauled in a game-high 11 boards for WSC. 
            The Wildcats had 18 turnovers in the game to 15 for UMD.  Both teams had 20 points in the paint while UMD held a 15-13 edge in points off turnovers.
            Wayne State will be at home next weekend, hosting Bemidji State Friday night at 6 p.m. and Minnesota Crookston Saturday in a 4 p.m. contest at Rice Auditorium.