Box Score             Wayne State could not overcome 20 turnovers and 0-13 shooting from the 3-point line as the Wildcats dropped their first game of the season Saturday afternoon at Nebraska-Kearney by a score of 69-59.  The host Lopers move to 4-4 on the year while WSC slips to 5-1 on the young season.
            The Wildcats held the lead for most of the first quarter, scoring six straight points early to take an 8-4 lead.  WSC took what ended up being their biggest lead of the game (10-6) at the 5:03 mark on a Lily Fitzgerald layup and ended the opening quarter with a 16-15 lead.
            WSC maintained their advantage for a good share of the second quarter until the 'Cats went scoreless for the final 2:55 of the half and never led again.
            Tenleigh Smith's three-point play put the 'Cats in front 33-30 with 2:55 to play in the first half, but UNK closed the half with the final nine points and took a 39-33 lead at intermission.
            Nebraska-Kearney pushed their cushion to 12 points with seven minutes to play in the third quarter at 47-35.  WSC got as close as six in the quarter at 47-41 on a pair of Kylah vanDonkersgoed free throws and ended the quarter trailing 51-44.
            UNK still held a nine-point lead at 59-50 near the midway point of the fourth quarter.  A Tenleigh Smith jumper and vanDonkersgoed layup pulled Wayne State within five at 59-54 with 4:08 to play, but that's as close as the Wildcats could get to the Lopers who sealed the win making 7 of 7 free throws late for the 69-59 victory.
            Smith led Wayne State in scoring with 18 points, going 5 of 9  from the field and 8 for 9 at the charity stripe.  Senior forward Rachel Dahlen added 15 points and Kelsey Willems scored 12.
            Wayne State was 21 of 56 from the field for 37.5 percent, but went 0 for 13 behind the arc while connecting on 17 of 20 free throws.
            For Nebraska-Kearney, Jillian Aschoff poured in 18 points including a perfect 14-14 at the free throw line.  Myleigh Weers and Jordan Sears also hit double figures with 16 and 13 points respectively.
            The Lopers shot 33.9 percent making 21 of 62 shots.  UNK was 4 of 14 from the 3-point line and 23 of 28 at the free throw stripe.
            WSC held a slim 41-40 edge in rebounding on the Lopers thanks to 11 boards from vanDonkersgoed.  Dahlen added seven rebounds and team-highs of four steals and three assists.
            The Wildcats had 20 turnovers in the game to just 12 on UNK, resulting in a 23-8 advantage for the host Lopers in points off turnovers.
            Wayne State will conclude their non-conference slate at home Monday evening hosting Hesston College of Kansas at 5 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.