Wayne State 78 Upper Iowa 55

            Wayne State held Upper Iowa scoreless for just over seven minutes in the second quarter to take control of the game as the Wildcats defeated the Peacocks 78-55 Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball played at Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa.  The Wildcats improve to 11-5 and 6-4 in the NSIC South Division while the host Peacocks drop to 2-14 and 1-9 in league play.
            The first quarter was tightly contested with Wayne State grabbing a 14-13 lead after 10 minutes of play thanks to eight points from junior forward Erin Norling.
            Upper Iowa drained a pair of 3-pointers to open the second quarter to take a 19-16 lead with 8:37 remaining before halftime.
            WSC would then hold the Peacocks scoreless for the next 7:05 while the Wildcats scored 15 unanswered points as the Wildcats took a 31-19 lead before finishing the half with a 31-22 advantage.
            Wayne State then held Upper Iowa without a point for the opening 4:04 of the third quarter and built a 16-point lead at 38-22. 
            After UIU scored eight straight points to get within eight at 38-30, the Wildcats closed the third stanza with an 18-4 scoring surge to take a commanding 56-34 lead.
            Reserves controlled play in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats and WSC finished with the 78-55 victory.
            Junior point guard Halley Busse paced Wayne State in scoring with 17 points while Norling also reached double digits with 14.  Iowa natives Haley Vesey and Lauren Zacharias each added nine points for the Wildcats.
            Wayne State finished the game making 29 of 66 shots for 43.9 percent, including 5-16 from downtown, and 15 for 20 (75%) at the charity stripe.
            Natalie Dinius was the lone Upper Iowa player reaching double figures with 17 points.
            Upper Iowa was 18 for 56 shooting (32%), going 10-31 behind the 3-point line and 9 for 16 at the foul line.
            Wayne State won the rebounding battle over Upper Iowa 47-32 thanks to eight boards from Norling and seven each by Brittany Bongartz and Zacharias.
            WSC held a commanding 40-8 advantage on points in the paint and 24-3 in points off turnovers, forcing 19 UIU turnovers compared to 13 for the Wildcats.
            The Wildcats return home next weekend hosting MSU Moorhead Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Northern State Saturday in a 3:30 p.m. contest.