Wayne State 54 University of Mary 52

            Sophomore point guard Halley Busse drained a step-back 3-pointer from just over 25 feet with 1.8 seconds remaining to give South Division #6 seed Wayne State College a come-from-behind 54-52 win at the University of Mary (#3 seed North Division) Wednesday evening in the NSIC/Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament first round game played at the McDowell Activity Center in Bismarck, North Dakota.  The Wildcats improve to 15-14 on the year and advance to the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. against Sioux Falls while the host Marauders end the year at 17-9.
            The Wildcats trailed throughout the contest thanks to a 1-11 start shooting in the first quarter as WSC found themselves trailing 14-4 after 10 minutes of play.
            WSC started to hit some shots in the second quarter while cutting into the Marauder lead.
            The 'Cats made 7 of 15 in the second stanza and after trailing 19-4 at the 9:00 mark.  WSC used a pair of 7-0 runs in the second quarter to cut into Mary's lead.
            The first 7-0 run cut Mary's lead from 19-4 to 19-11 and the second 7-0 run got WSC within 21-18 following a Brittany Bongartz 3-pointer with 4:31 left in the half.  WSC ended the half trailing by two 26-24 on a jumper by senior Maggie Lowe.
            WSC opened the third quarter with a Bongartz layup and a Andrea Larson free throw to take their first lead of the night at 27-26.
            That lead was short-lived as the Marauders went on a 12-2 run over the 4:22 to take a nine-point lead at 38-29.
            Wayne State then held Mary scoreless for the final 4:55 of the third quarter to get within three at 38-35 following an Erin Norling layup entering the fourth quarter.
            The fourth quarter saw neither team hold a lead of more than three points while trading seven lead changes and four ties.
            Mary was in front 48-46 with 3:29 remaining.  Baskets by Bongartz and Norling gave the Wildcats a 50-48 lead with 2:11 to play.
            The Marauders responded with two baskets to regain the lead at 52-50 with 30 seconds left.
            Norling hit one of two free throws with 15 second to play, cutting the deficit to 52-51.
            WSC forced a turnover on Mary with 10 seconds left and off an inbounds pass, Busse took the ball and launched a step-back 3-pointer from well behind the top of the circle and hit the trifecta with 1.8 seconds remaining giving the Wildcats a dramatic 54-52 win.
            Wayne State held the lead for just 2:11 of the game compared to 33:27 for Mary.
            Bongartz paced Wayne State with 19 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.  Norling ended with 17 points and Busse finished with 10.
            WSC shot just 36.5 percent from the field on 19 of 52 shooting.  The "Cats were 4 of 17 from the 3-point line and 12 for 16 (75 percent) at the charity stripe.
            Gabbie Bohl led Mary with 13 points followed by Macy Williams (12) and Tonya Dvorak (11).
            Mary was 18 of 54 from the field for 33.3 percent, going 5 for 17 behind the arc and 11 of 12 at the foul line.
            WSC held a slim 37-33 edge in rebounding thanks to 11 boards by Bongartz.  Norling had three assists to lead WSC and three steals while Bongartz registered five blocked shots in the win.
            The Wildcats now face the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the 2019 NSIC/Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.