Wayne State 79 Southwest Minnesota State 62

            Wayne State built a 28-17 first quarter lead and never looked back as the Wildcats notched their 10^th win of the season Saturday evening with a 79-62 Northern Sun Conference women's basketball win over Southwest Minnesota State at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The Wildcats are now 10-4 and 5-3 in the NSIC while the Mustangs fall to 6-7 and 1-7 in league games.
            The score was tied 4-4 at the 6:15 mark of the first quarter, then the Wildcats used consecutive 3-pointers by Kylie Hammer, Erin Norling and Halley Busse to take a 13-4 advantage.
            After SMSU got within five at 13-8, WSC went on a 10-2 run to build a 23-10 lead that catapulted the Wildcats to a 28-17 first quarter lead thanks to 4 of 6 shooting from the 3-point line to start the game.
            The Mustangs got as close as seven in the second quarter several times, but the 'Cats built the lead into double digits at the end of the half and after leading 45-30 following a Josey Ryan 3-pointer ended the half with a 45-36 lead.
            SMSU scored the first four points of the third quarter to make the score 45-40, but Wayne State went on a 14-0 run over a span of 3:51 to take a commanding 59-40 lead. 
            Wayne State ended the third quarter with a 63-47 lead and reserves dominated play in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats closed with a 79-62 win.
            Junior forward Erin Norling scored a game-high 21 points to lead four Wayne State players in double figures.  Halley Busse added 14 points while Kylie Hammer and Josey Ryan also hit double digits with 13 and 12 respectively.
            WSC made 30 of 67 shots from the field for 44.8 percent.  The 'Cats were 8 for 21 behind the arc and 11 of 13 at the charity stripe.
            Abuk Akoi and Meleah Reinhart scored 15 points apiece to pace Southwest Minnesota State in scoring with Sadie Stelter also reaching double figures with 11 points.
            Southwest Minnesota State connected on 21 of 61 shots from the field for 34.4 percent, making just 2 of 17 shots from the 3-point line.  The Mustangs were 18 for 24 (75%) at the charity stripe.
            The Mustangs held a 41-38 advantage in rebounding on the Wildcats despite seven boards from Brittany Bongartz.  WSC forced SMSU into 17 turnovers while the Wildcats had 14, but Wayne State held a 24-14 advantage in points off turnovers. 
            Norling and Busse each handed out four assists while Haley Vesey had two steals.
            WSC will be on the road next weekend for NSIC South Division games at Winona State Friday night at 5:30 p.m. and Upper Iowa Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.