Minnesota State 79 Wayne State 69
Wayne State shot just 30 percent in the first half while Minnesota State built a 20-point halftime lead as the host Mavericks downed the Wildcats 79-69 Friday evening in a Northern Sun Conference South Division women's basketball game played at Taylor Center in Mankato, Minnesota. WSC drops to 13-6 and 8-5 in the league while MSU is now 10-7 and 7-6 in the NSIC South Division.
The Wildcats never led in the game. WSC hit just 5 of 18 shots (27.8%) in the opening quarter as the host Mavericks built a 19-11 lead.
The cold shooting continued for WSC in the second quarter while Minnesota State connected on 11 of 21 shots (52.4%) in the second quarter, outscoring the Wildcats 28-16, to build a commanding 47-27 lead at the break.
Wayne State did shoot much better in the second half – 13 of 25 for 52 percent – and was 14 for 16 at the charity stripe. But the 20-point deficit was too much to overcome as the host Mavericks closed with a 79-69 win.
The Wildcats held a 21-16 scoring advantage in the third quarter, cutting the Minnesota State lead to 63-48.
After trailing by as many as 19 in the fourth quarter, WSC never gave up and got the deficit to single digits in the final 90 seconds of the game before falling 79-69.
Junior forward
Erin Norling led Wayne State with 13 points, her 37
th consecutive game scoring double figures.
Halley Busse and
Brittany Bongartz also reached double figures for the 'Cats with 11 points apiece.
It was a tale of two halves for Wayne State shooting as the Wildcats ended 23 of 58 from the field for 39.7 percent, going 2 of 14 behind the arc. WSC was solid from the free throw line making 21 of 25 for 84 percent.
Five players reached double digits for Minnesota State, led by Kristi Fett's 15 points. Maddy Olson scored 13, Joey Batt had 12 while Tayla Stuttley and Rachel Shumski each accounted for 10 points for the Mavericks.
MSU made 26 of 74 shots for 35 percent, including 7 of 25 from 3-point range. The Mavericks were 20 for 27 at the charity stripe.
Minnesota State held a 47-43 edge in rebounding thanks to 17 offensive boards. Norling led WSC on the glass with seven.
WSC had 21 turnovers in the game to just 14 for Minnesota State.
The Wildcats play again Saturday visiting Concordia-St. Paul in a 3:30 p.m. contest.