Wayne State 73 Minot State 72

            Wayne State junior forward Erin Norling made a three-point play off a steal with 11.4 seconds to play giving the Wildcats a dramatic 73-72 home win over Minot State in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  WSC is now 15-7 on the year and 10-6 in the NSIC South Division while Minot State drops to 4-16 and 1-15 in the NSIC North Division.
            A high scoring first quarter saw both teams make 10 baskets with the Wildcats holding a 24-22 lead after 10 minutes.
            Wayne State led the entire second quarter, building a lead of 11 points at 39-28 following a Norling 3-pointer with 4:24 to go in the first half.
            The visiting Beavers cut into the Wildcat advantage to end the half with WSC leading 42-40 at the break.
            Neither team held a lead of more than four points in the third quarter as Minot State used 56 percent shooting (9-16) to outscore WSC 21-16 and take a 61-57 lead entering the fourth quarter.
            Minot State took their biggest lead of the game at 66-61 with 6:59 remaining on a Mariah Payne basket.
            WSC rallied with seven straight points and took a 68-66 lead on a Kylie Hammer layup with 4:29 to play.
            But Minot State came back and took a 72-70 lead on a Bethany Theodore 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining.
            The Wildcats first chance to tie the game saw a shot by Brittany Bongartz blocked with Minot State getting the rebound.
            WSC was forced to foul trailing by two points and the Wildcats got a steal from Kylie Hammer that led to a fast break layup from Norling, who was fouled on the play, with 11.4 seconds left to tie the score at 72-72. 
            Norling completed the three point play to give the Wildcats a 73-72 lead.
            Minot State worked for the final shot and an attempt in the lane by Calli Delsman was off the mark as the Wildcats escaped with a 73-72 victory.
            Freshman Josey Ryan paced five Wildcats in double figures with 16 points.  Norling ended with 13 and moved her into 18^th place on the all-time Wildcat scoring list with 1,185 points.  Bongartz, Haley Vesey and Kylie Hammer each added 10 points apiece in the win.
            Wayne State finished the game making 28 of 61 shots for 45.9 percent, including 8 for 22 behind the arc.  The Wildcats were 9-10 at the charity stripe.
            Bethany Theodore scored a game-high 23 points to lead Minot State followed by Mariah Payne with 20.  Mollie Wilson also hit double digits with 13 points.
            Minot State was 30 of 66 from the field for 45.5 percent, going 7-13 from the 3-point line and 5-6 at the foul stripe.
            Minot State won the rebounding battle over WSC 39-30.  Norling grabbed nine boards for the Wildcats.
            Halley Busse handed out a career-high nine assists and had three steals for Wayne State.
            The Wildcats will be on the road next weekend, visiting St. Cloud State Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Minnesota Duluth Saturday in a 3:30 p.m. contest.