Wayne State needed 32 points and a perfect 13-13 free throw shooting from senior guard Lauren Zacharias to fend off an upset bid from Upper Iowa as the Wildcats needed overtime to down the Peacocks 77-70 in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball Sunday afternoon at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  WSC is now 9-2 on the season and 5-2 in the NSIC South while UIU drops to 4-8 and 0-7 in league play.
            The 'Cats jumped out quickly, taking a 13-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest, highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers from Zacharias, Logan Hughes and Annie Guentzel.  The Wildcats finished the first quarter with a 15-9 lead.
            WSC led by as many as 11 in the second quarter, but Upper Iowa closed within four at 24-20 with 3:31 to play in the half.  Wayne State then pushed the lead back to 11 before ending the half with a 33-25 lead.
            In the third quarter, WSC held a 10-point advantage at 45-35 with 4:07 to play after a Kylah vanDonkersgoed 3-pointer.  However, Upper Iowa closed the third quarter strong and ended with a 7-0 scoring run to cut the Wildcat lead to 45-42
            Upper Iowa took their first lead of the game at 50-49 with 7:11 remaining and built the lead to five at 56-51 with 2:17 to play. 
            The Peacocks still led 59-55 with 32 seconds to play, but the 'Cats used a Zacharias layup following a UIU turnover to make the score 59-57 with 18 seconds to go.  Another Peacock turnover led to a Kassidy Pingel layup with 10 seconds to play sending the game into overtime tied at 59-59.
            A Zacharias 3-pointer to open overtime gave Wayne State a 62-59 lead and the 'Cats never trailed again. 
            After Upper Iowa got as close as one at 67-66 with 2:36 left, the 'Cats scored the next seven points to take a 74-66 lead and finished with a 77-70 victory in overtime.
            Zacharias scored a game-high 32 points for the Wildcats, her second 30-point game of the season (37 at Fort Lewis on 11/25).  She was 8 of 12 from the field and a perfect 13 for 13 at the charity stripe.   Hughes also finished in double figures with 12.
            Wayne State made 25 of 74 shots for 33.8 percent and was 7 for 22 behind the 3-point line.  The 'Cats sank 20 of 25 free throws for 80 percent. 
            Lydia Haack poured in 18 points for Upper Iowa.  Katie Tornstrom scored 16 with Mia Huberty adding 14.
            Upper Iowa shot 44.8 percent from the field making 26 of 58 shots.  The Peacocks were 6 for 18 from 3-point range and 12 of 18 at the foul line.
            UIU won the rebounding battle over WSC 49-33.  Zacharias had seven boards for WSC.
            The Wildcats forced 32 Upper Iowa turnovers and held a 26-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
            Maya Fitzpatrick handed out a career-high seven assists and had three steals while Zacharias was credited with five steals in the win.
            The Wildcats are off until Saturday, December 31 when Wayne State hosts Augustana in an NSIC South Division contest in Rice Auditorium starting at 1:30 p.m.