Wayne State 78 Upper Iowa 70

            Wayne State outscored Upper Iowa 26-16 in the fourth quarter including 12-4 in the final five minutes as the Wildcats completed a weekend NSIC South Division road sweep with a 78-70 win over the Peacocks Saturday afternoon at Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa.  WSC moves to 4-4 and 3-3 in the NSIC South while UIU drops to 1-7 and 0-6 in divisional play.
            The Wildcats trailed most of the first quarter, but used nine straight points late in the quarter to turn a 14-10 deficit into a 19-17 lead after 10 minutes of play.
            WSC used four 3-pointers for 12 of their 20 points scored in the quarter.  The 'Cats never led by more than five and used a Kylie Hammer layup to end the half for a 39-34 lead.
            Wayne State built an early seven point lead in the third quarter, 46-39 with 6:43 to go in the quarter, but went ice cold from the field the rest of the quarter as Upper Iowa stormed back to tie the score at 48-48 and took a 54-52 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  The 'Cats hit just 3 of 13 shots (23%) in the third quarter.
            Upper Iowa took their biggest lead of the game making the first basket in the fourth quarter for a 56-52 lead. 
            WSC then used back-to-back 3-pointers from Halley Busse and a layup from Hammer to gain a 60-58 lead with 7:33 remaining.
            With the score tied at 66-66 with 5:21 to play, the 'Cats got a basket from Autumn Mlinar followed by a 3-pointer from Erin Norling to take the lead for good at 71-66. 
            A Mlinar 3-pointer gave WSC a 74-68 lead and the 'Cats made 4-6 free throws late to preserve the 78-70 win.
            Norling scored 19 points and added 12 rebounds for third double-double of the season to lead a balanced Wildcat attack.  Hammer followed with 17 points, Busse added 13 and Mlinar scored 12.
            Wayne State made 24 of 62 shots from the field for 38.7 percent but made 11 of 24 from the 3-point line for 45 percent.  The Wildcats were 19-28 (67.9%) at the free throw line.
            Lydia Haack led Upper Iowa and all scorers with 29 points.  Katie Tornstrom scored 10.
            UIU shot 38 percent making 26 of 67 shots that included 7 for 23 from the 3-point line.  The Peacocks were 11-13 at the foul stripe.
            Wayne State dominated UIU on the glass with a 52-26 advantage that included 17 offensive rebounds by the Wildcats.  Norling's 12 boards led WSC followed by Mlinar with nine and Brittany Bongartz eight.
            Hammer led WSC with four assists and also had a team-high three blocked shots.
            The Wildcats will be at home next weekend hosting Winona State in NSIC South Division games Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.