University of Mary 83 Wayne State 81 (OT)

            Lauren Rotunda from the University of Mary drained two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime to give the visiting Marauders an 83-81 overtime win over Wayne State College in a Northern Sun Conference women's basketball game played Friday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  WSC drops to 14-7 on the season and 9-6 in the NSIC South Division while UMary improves to 15-9 and 9-6 in league play with the win.
            The first half was a low-scoring contest between the two clubs with the game tied 13-13 after one quarter while UMary used a 15-9 advantage in the second quarter to take a 28-22 lead at intermission. 
            Wayne State made just 8 of 34 shots from the field for 23.5 percent in the opening half.
            The tempo of the game picked up in the third quarter as both teams improved their shooting also.
            Wayne State went 4 of 7 behind the arc and 9 for 19 (47.4%) in the third quarter, holding a 26-22 scoring advantage to cut the lead to 50-48 entering the fourth quarter.
            The Wildcats took their first lead of the second half on the opening basket of the fourth quarter – a 3-pointer from Erin Norling, to take a 51-50 lead.
            UMary rallied and held a five point lead at 59-54 with 7:45 to play.
            A Halley Busse 3-pointer and two Norling free throws tied the score shortly after at 59-59, the first of five ties in the fourth quarter.
            Mary's Macy Williams hit a 3-pointer for a 62-59 Marauder lead with 5:28 to play in the game and neither team led by more than two the rest of regulation.
            With Mary leading, 64-62, WSC used baskets from Halley Busse and Norling to take a 66-64 lead with 1:03 to play.  Mary's Cassie Askvig hit a jumper with 42 seconds left to tie the score at 66-66.
            Wayne State regained the lead with 3.7 seconds left on a Norling layin for a 68-66 advantage, but Askvig answered on the following inbounds for UMary and sent the game into overtime on a baseline shot with 1.1 remaining.
            The Wildcats led nearly the entire overtime session, up by four two different times, and led by three at 81-78 with 33 seconds to play.
            UMary used a 3-pointer from Askvig to even the score at 81-81 with 10 seconds left.  WSC setup for the game-winning shot but Kylie Hammer's layup was strong and Rotunda was fouled on the rebound by Norling with 1.6 seconds left.  Rotunda made both free throws to give the visiting Marauders an 83-81 lead. 
            Norling got off a last second shot in the lane as the horn sounded but bounced out giving UMary the win.
            Norling scored a game-high 28 points to lead Wayne State in scoring, going 10 of 20 from the field.  Busse finished with 21 points, making five 3-pointers, while Josey Ryan also hit double figures with 11.
            Wayne State shot 28 of 78 from the field for 35.9 percent, making 12 of 30 behind the arc.  The Wildcats were 13 of 14 at the foul line.
            Askvig led UMary with 25 points.  Macy Williams poured in 19 points while Rotunda and Megan Voit also hit double figures with 15 and 11 points respectively.
            UMary made 32 of 71 shots from the field for 45.1 percent.  The Marauders were 9 for 25 from the 3-point line and 10 of 15 at the foul stripe.
            Wayne State held a 51-41 advantage in rebounding that included 19 offensive caroms. Brittany Bongartz grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for the Wildcats followed by Norling with seven. 
            Ryan handed out a season-high six assists followed by Busse with five.  Norling was credited with three blocked shots while Bongartz added two, making her the sixth player in school history to record 100 career blocked shots.
            The Wildcats will be at home again Saturday afternoon hosting Minot State at 3:30 p.m.