Box Score Wayne State 66 Concordia-St. Paul 52

            Wayne State used a 12-0 run late third quarter extending into the fourth quarter to snap a 46-46 tie as the Wildcats pulled away for a 66-52 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball victory at Concordia-St. Paul Friday evening in the Gangelhoff Center at St. Paul, Minnesota.  It was the sixth straight win for the Wildcats, now 11-3 overall and 6-3 in the NSIC, while the host Golden Bears drop to 7-7 and 3-5 in league play.
            The win also marked the 200^th victory for Wildcat head coach Chris Kielsmeier, who is now 200-61 in his ninth season as head coach at Wayne State College.
            The first half featured length scoring runs by both teams. 
            With Concordia-St. Paul leading 7-4 at the 5:38 mark of the first quarter, Wayne State scored the next 20 points of the game and held the Golden Bears scoreless for the next 7:08 extending into the second quarter. 
            The Wildcats finished the first quarter leading 20-7 and held a 24-7 lead at the end of the 20-0 run.  But the Golden Bears responded with their own scoring run, producing the next 10 points over a span of 3:06 to get within 24-17 before Wayne State closed the first half with a 34-27 advantage.
            WSC still maintained a lead midway through the third quarter until the Golden Bears rallied to tie the game.  With the Wildcats leading 42-34, CSP scored nine of the next 10 points and tied the score at 43-43 on a Hanna Vidlund 3-pointer with 3:14 left third quarter.
            After both teams traded 3-point baskets for a 46-46 score, the Wildcats reeled off 12 straight points over the next 6:20 that carried into the fourth quarter to take control of the game.
            Junior center Paige Ballinger scored six straight points in the 12-0 scoring run and then added a three-point play that put the 'Cats in front 60-49.  The Wildcats maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way and finished with the 66-52 win that avenged an 86-66 home loss to the Golden Bears on December 3^rd in Rice Auditorium.
            Wayne State was 22 of 56 shooting for the contest (39.3%), going 4 of 8 from the 3-point line and 18 out of 25 (72%) at the charity stripe.
            Junior forward Maggie Schulte paced Wayne State with 14 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.  Ballinger also hit double digits for the Wildcats with 13 points, all coming in the second half.
            Concordia-St. Paul made 19 of 59 shots in the game for 32.2 percent.  The Golden Bears were 7 for 20 behind the arc and 7 for 8 at the free throw line.
            Caitlyn Russell poured in a game-high 16 points for CSP while Mishayla Jones added 11.
            WSC held a 44-34 advantage in the rebounding battle thanks to 12 caroms by Schulte while Kyrah Fredenburg grabbed nine boards for the Golden Bears.
            The Wildcats had one more turnover than CSP, 19-18, resulting in a 20-13 edge for the Golden Bears in points off turnovers.  WSC held a 9-3 edge in second chance points and 11-0 in fast break points over the Golden Bears.
            Haley Moore had four of Wayne State's 12 assists in the game and four of the Wildcats' 12 steals.  Ballinger had three blocked shots with sophomore Taylor Reiner adding two.
            Wayne State will visit Minnesota State Saturday in a 4 p.m. contest at Mankato, Minnesota.