Sioux Falls took a 17-5 first quarter lead and Wayne State could never recover as the Cougars defeated the Wildcats 77-54 in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball Wednesday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.  The 'Cats drop to 6-2 and 1-1 in the league while Sioux Falls is 5-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
            Both teams started slowly as neither team made a basket in the first four minutes of the game. 
            WSC used a Kylah vanDonkersgoed free throw at the 6:06 mark for the first point of the game.  Sioux Falls then scored the next 12 points for a 12-1 advantage and ended the first quarter with a 17-5 lead.
            Sioux Falls continued the pressure in the second quarter, extending their lead by outscoring the 'Cats 22-11 to take a 39-16 lead at intermission.  Tenleigh Smith had 11 of Wayne State's points on 4 of 6 shooting including a pair of 3-pointers.
            Wayne State had a strong third quarter, shooting 8 of 13 from the field while outscoring the Cougars 24-21 to make the score 60-40.  Seven different Wildcats scored in the quarter led by vanDonkersgoed with six points.
            The Cougars held a 17-14 scoring edge in the final stanza and ended with a 77-54 win.
            Two players reached double figures for Wayne State, led by vanDonkersgoed with 16 points and Smith 14.
            Wayne State finished 17 of 45 from the field for 37.8 percent, hitting 6 of 17 3-pointers and 14 of 22 from the free throw line.
            Anna Vaaler scored a game-high 22 points for Sioux Falls with Alexis Rose adding 18 and Rease Murtaugh scoring 12.
            Sioux Falls shot 41.5 percent from the field on 27 of 65, going 9 for 25 behind the arc and 14 of 15 at the free throw stripe.
            USF held a slim 35-32 edge in rebounding with Smith grabbing seven boards for the 'Cats.  Meg Rietz had three assists and two blocked shots in the contest.
            Wayne State is on the road Saturday visiting Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Minnesota at 4 p.m.