Southwest Minnesota State sank 14 3-pointers to take down Wayne State 84-58 in Northern Sun Conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon in Marshall, Minnesota at the R/A Facility.  The host Mustangs improve to 4-4 and 2-1 in the league while WSC slips to 6-3 and 1-2 in NSIC games.
            The host Mustangs led from start to finish in the contest.  SMSU took an early 10-3 lead and was in front 23-12 before closing the opening quarter with a 23-15 lead.  The Mustangs started the game making 5 of 10 from the 3-point line to get the host team off to a strong start.
            Southwest Minnesota State was maintaining a double-digit advantage in the second quarter when WSC scored six straight points on a pair of Rachel Dahlen baskets and two Tenleigh Smith free throws to cut the Mustang lead to 28-23 with 4:23 to go before halftime. 
            The Mustangs then scored the next 11 points over the next 4:20 to grab a 39-23 lead with freshman Cassie Allen scoring right before the buzzer to end the scoring drought making the halftime score 39-25.
            Both teams picked up the offensive tempo and shooting in the third quarter, but despite Wayne State making 11 of 14 shots for 78 percent the 'Cats could not gain any ground on the Mustangs.  Both teams scored 24 points in the third quarter and SMSU held a 63-49 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 
            SMSU continued their hot shooting in the final stanza, repeating their third quarter numbers by making 8 of 13 shots for 61.5 percent, outscoring WSC 21-9 to close with the 84-58 win.
            Senior guard Meg Rietz poured in a career-high 14 points with Dahlen also producing 14 points for the Wildcats.  Tenleigh Smith also hit double digits with 12.
            Wayne State was 24 of 55 from the field for 43.6 percent, including 4 of 13 from the 3-point line.  The 'Cats made 6 of 9 free throws.
            For Southwest Minnesota State, Kylan Gerads scored a game-high 20 points followed by Nicole Maenke with 13 and Audrey Swanson 13. 
            The Mustangs shot an even 50 percent from the field making 30 of 60 shots including 14 of 33 from 3-point range.  SMSU was 10 of 13 at the free throw line.
            SMSU held a sizeable 40-25 edge in rebounding as Dahlen had five boards for WSC.  Smith and Kelsey Willems each handed out three assists. 
            The Wildcats are on the road again next weekend visiting #2 Minnesota State Thursday at 7:30 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. contest Saturday at St. Cloud State.