Minnesota Duluth 69 Wayne State 65

            Wayne State guards Kylie Hammer and Lauren Zacharias combined for 46 points, but it wasn't enough as visiting Minnesota Duluth edged the Wildcats 69-65 in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball played Saturday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  UMD is now 14-4 and 12-2 in the NSIC North while WSC drops to 7-10 and 4-9 in the NSIC South Division.
            The Wildcats got off to a strong start, taking a 9-4 lead early as four different players scored to start the game.
            Minnesota Duluth then went on a 13-2 scoring run and ended the opening quarter with a 17-13 lead.
            WSC opened the second quarter with Kylie Hammer draining a 3-pointer and layup to give the 'Cats the lead back at 18-17.  The Wildcats pushed the lead up to four at 23-19 and ended the first half knotted with the visiting Bulldogs at 28-28.  Hammer had nine of Wayne State's 15 points in the quarter as WSC shot 50 percent on 6 of 12 shooting.
            UMD stormed out of the break, outscoring WSC 15-7 to start the quarter taking their largest lead of the night at 43-35 with 6:35 to go in the quarter.
            Wayne State battled back and evened the score at 50-50 on a Hammer 3-pointer with 1:16 to play and closed the quarter tied at 52-52 with the Bulldogs.  Hammer ended the quarter with 11 points for WSC, going 3 of 5 from the field while making all three free throws.
            The last lead for the Wildcats came with 8:22 to play following a Zacharias layup.
            UMD then scored the next eight points to take the lead for good at 63-56.
            The 'Cats got as close as three at 67-64 following a pair of Abby Kopecky free throws with 1:04 to play, but could get no closer as the North Division leading Bulldogs finished with a 69-65 win.
            Hammer scored a game-high 26 points to lead Wayne State, making 8 of 16 shots from the field and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line.  Zacharias added 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting in the game.
            Wayne State made 23 of 52 shots in the contest for 44.2 percent, including 7 for 23 behind the arc.  The 'Cats were 12-14 from the free throw line.
            Brooke Olson led Minnesota Duluth with 23 points.  Sarah Grow and Maesyn Thiesen each added 14 points.
            UMD shot 47.5 percent on 28 of 59 shots.  The Bulldogs were 8 of 21 from the 3-point line and 5 of 8 at the free throw line.
            UMD held a 35-27 advantage in rebounds over WSC.  Hammer, Logan Hughes and Tate Norblade each hauled in five boards for the 'Cats.
            The Wildcats will be on the road next weekend to close out NSIC cross-division play, visiting Minnesota Crookston Friday night at 5:30 p.m. and Bemidji State Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. contest.