Wayne State 73 Augustana 61

            Wayne State used 10 3-pointers and a career-high 24 points from senior guard Kylie Hammer to top Augustana University 73-61 Tuesday evening in the NSIC women's basketball opener for both teams played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The host Wildcats move to 3-1 and 1-0 in the league while Augustana is 2-1 and 0-1 in the NSIC.
            Augustana scored the first five points of the game, but the 'Cats rebounded quickly and had a 21-7 lead with 1:40 left in the first quarter before closing the opening stanza with a 24-13 lead.  WSC made 5 of 8 3-pointers to open the game and started 7 of 14 shooting in the first quarter.
            The Wildcats continued their hot shooting in the second quarter, but Augustana matched the Wildcats and closed to within one at 31-30 with 4:24 left in the half. 
            Wayne State then surged to end the second quarter with an 11-1 run and pushed the lead back to 11 at halftime 42-31 thanks to 7 of 12 shooting in the quarter and 3 for 6 behind the arc.
            The second half turned into a defensive battle as both teams cooled off from the field.  Several times Augustana got as close as seven but the Wildcats pushed the lead back to double digits and held a 55-44 edge after three quarters.
            The 'Cats were just 1 of 11 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter, but maintained a double digit advantage by making 15 of 20 free throws as Wayne State finished with the 73-61 win.
            Hammer led the Wildcats in scoring with a career-high 24 points, going 11 of 15 at the charity stripe.  She also matched a career-best with nine rebounds. 
            Other Wildcat players in double figures were Logan Hughes with 13 points, Kassidy Pingel 12 and Maya Fitzpatrick 10.
            Wayne State was 20 of 54 shooting from the field, but half of their made shots came from the 3-point line on a 10 for 24 night behind the arc.  The 'Cats were also 23 for 34 at the free throw line.
            Vishe' Rabb scored 18 points for Augustana.  Aislinn Duffy added 17 with Lauren Sees scoring 14.
            Augustana shot just 36.7 percent from the field making 22 of 60 shots.  The Vikings were just 1 of 18 from the 3-point line and 16 of 26 at the foul line.
            WSC held a slight 38-35 edge in rebounding over the Vikings thanks to nine boards from Hammer and seven by Fitzpatrick.  The Wildcats held a 23-12 advantage in points off turnovers despite having three more turnovers than the Vikings 19-16.
            The Wildcats will be at home again Wednesday afternoon hosting South Dakota School of Mines in a non-conference game starting at 3:30 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.