Southwest Minnesota State 72 Wayne State 50

            Southwest Minnesota State jumped out to a quick start scoring 11 straight points in the first quarter to take control early as the Mustangs downed Wayne State College 72-50 in Northern Sun Conference South Division women's basketball Thursday evening at the R/A Facility in Marshall, Minnesota.  The host Mustangs improve to 12-11 and 9-10 in league play while dropping WSC to 9-14 and 6-13 in the NSIC South Division.
            WSC opened with a 5-2 lead early on a basket by Maya Fitzpatrick and 3-pointer from Logan Hughes.
            The host Mustangs then scored the next 11 points in three minutes and took the lead for good at 13-5 while building a 24-12 first quarter lead.
            The Wildcats made just 3 of 16 shots (18%) in the opening stanza while SMSU hit 50 percent on 10 of 20.
            Southwest Minnesota State opened the second quarter scoring the first eight points to take a 32-12 lead and the Mustangs outscored WSC 17-11 in the quarter to build a 41-23 halftime advantage.
            Wayne State's shooting woes continued in the third quarter as the Wildcats made just 4 of 15 shots while the Mustangs continued their strong shooting making 7 of 14 shots, extending their lead to 59-32 at the end of three quarters.
            Reserves dominated play in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats hit 3 of 6 shots from behind the arc while sophomore Ella Skinner scored eight points in just six minutes of play as WSC outscored SMSU 18-13 in the final period making the final score 72-50 in favor of Southwest Minnesota State.
            Senior guard Kylie Hammer led Wayne State in scoring with 12 points followed by junior Logan Hughes with 11 points and nine rebounds. 
            Wayne State was 17 of 58 shooting for 29.3 percent, going 7 for 21 behind the arc and 9 for 12 at the charity stripe.
            Sadie Stelter scored 18 points to lead Southwest Minnesota State.  Sam Wall (12) and Jenna Borchers (10) also hit double figures for the Mustangs.
            SMSU finished the game making 28 of 60 shots for 46 percent, including 10 for 21 from the 3-point line.  The Mustangs connected on 6 of 8 free throws.
            The Mustangs held a 38-34 edge in rebounding over the Wildcats despite nine boards from Hughes. 
            The Wildcats close out the regular season at home Saturday afternoon hosting the University of Sioux Falls at 3:30 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.