Box Score Wayne State 84 St. Cloud State 56

            Wayne State jumped out to a 25-11 first quarter lead and shot over 50 percent from the field for just the fourth time this season as the Wildcats rolled to an 84-56 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win Friday evening over St. Cloud State at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The 'Cats are now 17-6 and 11-4 in the NSIC South while SCSU drops to 12-6 and 9-5 in the NSIC North.
            The Wildcats never trailed in the contest, building a 16-6 lead just over five minutes into the game following a 3-pointer from Maggie Schulte.  The 'Cats ended the first quarter with a 25-11 lead thanks to 7 of 11 shooting in the quarter.
            Wayne State continued their hot shooting in the second quarter, going 8 of 16 from the field as the 'Cats increased the lead to 42-25 at intermission. 
            WSC pushed the lead to as many as 21 in the third quarter before finishing the stanza with a 63-46 lead. 
            Wildcat reserves dominated play in the fourth quarter with the 'Cats taking their biggest lead of the night at 30 on a Anna Eckert 3-pointer before ending the game with a 84-56 victory.
            Wayne State ended the night shooting 30 of 57 for 52.6 percent, including 10 of 21 from the 3-point line and 14 of 16 (87.5%) at the charity stripe.
            Senior center Paige Ballinger led WSC in scoring with 19 points, going 7 of 11 from the field and 5 for 6 at the stripe.  Freshman Erin Norling and senior Maggie Schulte also hit double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.
            St. Cloud State was 25 of 71 from the field for 35.2 percent, going just 4 of 22 behind the arc and 2 of 3 at the free throw line.
            Amanda Christianson poured in 11 points for SCSU followed by Andrea Thomas with 10.
            SCSU had one more rebound than WSC 37-36.  Andrea Larson had nine caroms for the Wildcats followed by Schulte grabbing eight boards.
            WSC held a 26-16 advantage on points in the paint and 17-2 in points off turnovers.
            Schulte handed out six assists for WSC while Ballinger had two steals.
            The Wildcats will be at home again Saturday hosting Minnesota Duluth in a 4 p.m. contest.