NSU vs. Wayne State BOX SCORE

 

WAYNE, Neb. - Northern State's women's basketball team suffered its first NSIC loss Saturday night at the hands of Wayne State College.  Down 12 at the half, the Wolves mounted a comeback in the second period, but were unable to overcome the Wildcats, falling 63-66.  Northern is now 6-3 overall with an NSIC record of 3-1 while the Wildcats improve to 8-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.

The first half was not high scoring, but the Wildcats hit nearly half of their shots from the field, while the Wolves shot a meager 29%.  Wayne kept Northern to single digits through more than ten minutes of play, leading 18-7 with eight minutes left to play.  Noelle Hall was the leading scorer in the half, hitting four shots from the field for eight points.  The Wildcats knocked down six three-pointers on their way to a 36-24 halftime lead.

Northern was behind by double figures for much of the second half.  They trailed 53-38 with just eight minutes remaining.  NSU guards led the Wolves in a 10-4 run, capped by back-to-back threes from Ryanne Brockhaus, which got the team started on an even larger run.  With their defense keeping the Wildcat offense without a field goal for nearly five minutes, the Wolves used free throws and long range shots to tighten the game to 57-53 with five minutes to play. 

Wayne State hit its first three of the second half to get back on the board and take a seven point lead.  The Wolves kept the pressure on the Wildcats with a set of three pointers from Hall, but Wayne closed the game out by hitting enough shots to secure the win, 66-63.

Hall finished just shy of a double double on the night, posting 16 points and eight rebounds.  For the second consecutive night, she dished out five assists.  Kimberly Lewis scored a season high ten points, shooting 4-of-6 from the field with 2-of-3 free throws.  She also grabbed six boards and had four assists and three steals.  The Wolves shot 41.0% from the field (25-61) and had a +12 rebound margin, grabbing 40 boards to WSC's 28.  

Kylee McGill shot 6-of-9 from the field to lead the Wildcats with 19 points.  Jodie Boss added 16 points and four blocked shots, while Andrea Schoepf had ten points and led the squad with seven rebounds.  The Wildcats shot 42.9% from the field in the game and had seven blocked shots.

The Wolves take a break from conference play, hosting St. Cloud State on Tuesday, December 11 at 6:00 p.m. at Wachs Arena.