Box Score Wayne State 72 Concordia-St. Paul 47

            Freshmen Erin Norling and Halley Busse combined for 29 points to lead the Wayne State College women's basketball team in a 72-47 Northern Sun Conference victory over Concordia-St. Paul Friday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  WSC improves to 13-4 and 7-2 in league play while the visiting Golden Bears fall to 4-10 and 1-7 in the NSIC.
            Both teams' leading scorer spent the night in foul trouble, resulting in other players to contribute for both teams.
            Wayne State's Paige Ballinger picked up two fouls at the 6:37 mark of the first quarter, sending her to the bench for the rest of the half, while Concordia-St. Paul's Anna Schmitt recorded her third foul at the 7:58 mark of the second quarter sending her to the bench for the remainder of the half.
            WSC jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but then went cold from the floor as the Golden Bears finished the quarter on a 12-2 run to give Concordia-St. Paul a 14-10 first quarter lead.
            The Wildcats then opened the second quarter on a 19-0 run, giving WSC a 29-14 lead.  WSC then finished the first half with a 34-23 lead at intermission.
            After WSC opened the second half with a basket from Paige Ballinger to take a 36-23 lead, Concordia-St. Paul scored the next seven points and got within six at 36-30.  The Wildcats then closed the quarter strong and took a 49-36 lead.
            The Wildcats then put the game out of reach with a 10-1 run to open the fourth quarter, taking a 59-37 lead, and the Wildcats outscored CSP 23-11 in the fourth quarter to finish with the 72-47 win.
            Norling finished with a game-high 17 points to lead Wayne State in scoring, going 8 of 14 from the field.  Busse also hit double digits with 12 points for the Wildcats.
            Wayne State made 23 of 49 shots from the field for 46.9 percent, including 5 of 9 from the 3-point line, and 21 for 29 (72.4%) at the free throw stripe.
            Anna Schmitt paced Concordia-St. Paul with 13 points followed by Kayla Miller and Brianna Miller with 12 and 10 respectively. 
            The Golden Bears shot 32.3 percent from the field on 20 of 62 shooting.  CSP was just 1 of 10 behind the arc and 6 for 9 at the charity line.
            WSC held a commanding 36-15 edge in points off turnovers thanks to forcing 25 turnovers on CSP while WSC had 15. 
            The Golden Bears out-rebounded Wayne State 42-31 with Lindsay Dorr hauling in nine caroms for CSP while Ballinger grabbed seven boards for the 'Cats.
            The Wildcats will be at home again Saturday afternoon hosting Minnesota State in a NSIC contest at 4 p.m.