The University of Mary made 14 of 16 free throws and held off Wayne State 68-63 in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball Friday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The 'Cats are now 6-18 and 3-18 in the NSIC while the Marauders improve to 19-10 and 15-6 in the league.
            Wayne State never led in the contest but battled the Marauders throughout the contest.
            Mary opened the contest with an early 9-2 lead, but WSC battled back and was within one at 14-13 following a Maya Fitzpatrick basket with 1:35 to go in the quarter.
            The Marauders built a pair of six-point leads in the second quarter and again the 'Cats closed within one at 26-25 on a three-point play by Britney Ho with 6:30 to play in the first half.
            WSC shot 50 percent in the second quarter (7-14) and closed the half trailing 35-32.
            After UMary opened the third quarter with a basket for a 37-32 lead, WSC used a Fitzpatrick basket and 3-pointer to tie the score at 37-37. 
            The Marauders pushed the lead to five again at 46-41 and finished the quarter with a 50-47 advantage on the Wildcats despite another 50 percent shooting performance by WSC (7-14) in the quarter.
            WSC crept within one point early in the fourth quarter at 52-51 on a Brooklyn Kruse basket with 8:26 to go in the game. 
            The Marauders then held the 'Cats scoreless until the 2:15 mark while scoring eight straight points for a 60-51 lead.  WSC pulled within five a couple more times but UMary sealed the win canning 6 of 6 free throws late for a 68-63 win.
            Britney Ho led all scorers with 23 points for Wayne State, making 10 of 20 shots from the field.  Fitzpatrick also hit double figures with 17 points.
            Wayne State shot 48 percent for the game making 26 of 54 shots.  The 'Cats were 3 of 6 from the 3-point line and 8 for 10 at the charity stripe.
            Lexie Schneider and Megan Zander each scored 16 points for the University of Mary.  Mariah McKeever added 15 points with Bergen Kinnebrew scoring 12.
            UMary made 24 of 50 shots from the field for 48 percent, going 6 for 14 behind the arc and 14 of 16 at the free throw line.
            The Marauders held a 30-25 edge in rebounding as Ho hauled in nine caroms for the Wildcats.  Fitzpatrick and Tate Norblade each had four assists while Norblade had a team-high three steals.
            The Wildcats close out the season on Saturday hosting Northern State in a 3:30 p.m. contest on Senior Day in Rice Auditorium.