The University of Mary held off a fourth quarter rally by Wayne State as the Marauders outlasted the Wildcats 79-72 in the opening round of the NSIC Women's Basketball Tournament played at the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  WSC ends the year at 11-16 while UMary advances to the quarterfinals with a 14-12 mark.
            A fast paced first quarter between the two clubs featured six ties and five lead changes with UMary holding a 23-22 lead at the end of the quarter.  WSC held a 15-10 lead at the 3:48 mark following a Kassidy Pingel basket, but the Marauders scored the next five points to forge a 15-15 tie and ended the quarter with a one point lead.
            The two teams were still close midway through the second quarter tied at 25-25 with 8:00 left in the half.
            A 10-0 run by the Marauders over the next 2 ½ minutes gave UMary a 35-25 lead and the Marauders closed the first half with a 41-31 lead at the break.
            UMary still held a 10-point lead at 43-33 with 8:56 to go in the third quarter when Wayne State made a run and scored nine straight points to close within one at 43-42.  An Abby Kopecky jumper, 3-pointer and pair of free throws from Maya Fitzpatrick and a Lauren Zacharias layup fueled the Wildcat run.
            The Marauders pushed the lead back to eight and finished the quarter with a 55-49 lead.
            Early in the fourth quarter, UMary took their biggest lead of the game at 64-51 with 7:06 to play. 
            Still trailing by 10 (69-59) with 4:05 remaining, Wayne State made their final run at the Marauders and closed within four at 74-70 on a Zacharias layup with 37 seconds to play.  But the Marauders clinched the win making 5 of 6 free throws late and finished with the 79-72 victory.
            Five Wildcats reached double figures led by Zacharias with 18 points.  Senior Ashley Gustavson followed with 13, Kassidy Pingel 12 while Maya Fitzpatrick and Abby Kopecky each scored 11.
            Wayne State shot 26 of 65 from the field for 40 percent, going 5 of 23 behind the arc and 15 for 16 at the free throw line.
            Megan Voit poured in 18 points for UMary.  Megan Zander added 14, Ryleigh Wacha 12 and Reese Wishart 10 for the Marauders.
            UMary made 24 of 52 shots for 46.2 percent.  The Marauders made 7 of 18 from 3-point range and 24 of 32 at the free throw line.
            WSC had one more rebound than UMary 35-34.  Zacharias hauled in eight boards for WSC followed by Kopecky with six.  Zacharias also had six assists and two steals for Wayne State in the loss.
            The game marks the final contest for four Wildcat seniors – Ashley Gustavson, Logan Hughes, Kassidy Pingel and Lauren Zacharias.