#2 Wayne State 74 Northern State 42
Freshman guard Ashton Yossi scored a career-high 20 points and Wayne State drained 10 of 16 three pointers as the #2 ranked Wildcats rolled past Northern State 74-42 Wednesday evening in the first round of the NSIC Sanford Health Women’s Basketball Tournament played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. With the win, the Wildcats tie a school record with their 27th win, improving to 27-2 on the season. It was also the team’s 43rd straight win at Rice Auditorium in Wayne while Northern State ends the season at 15-14.
The Wildcats and Wolves both shot the ball well early as the two teams exchanged two lead changes and three ties. After trailing 7-4, WSC went on a 10-0 run highlighted by a pair of Ellen Hansen three’s to give the ‘Cats a 14-7 lead with 14:13 to play in the first half. The ‘Cats took their first double digit lead at 21-11 on a Ashley Arlen layup with 11:05 to go in the half. After Northern State pulled within five at 21-16, WSC put the game out of reach by scoring the next 14 points, holding the Wolves scoreless for 7:03 as the ‘Cats took a commanding 35-16 lead before finishing the first half with a 37-19 lead at halftime.
WSC shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, making 13 of 26 shots including 6 of 7 from the three point line, and the strong shooting from behind the arc continued in the second half.
The Wildcats kept the defensive pressure on Northern State throughout the second half. WSC took a 24 point lead at 48-24 on Eva Benson’s layup with 15:25 to play. The Wolves got within 19 at 51-32, then the Wildcats put together an 11-2 run and went in front 62-34 on two Ashley Arlen free throws with 6:34 to play and WSC went on to the 74-42 win.
Yossi finished with a career-high 20 points to lead WSC in scoring. The freshman guard from Dallas Center, Iowa was 7 of 11 from the field and 4 of 7 from the three point line. Senior All-American forward Ashley Arlen added 18 points and 12 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season. Ali Schwartzwald also reached double figures for the Wildcats with 10 points.
WSC was 25 of 56 shooting from the field for 44.6 percent, making 10 of 16 (62.5%) behind the three point line and 14 of 18 from the charity stripe.
For Northern State, Mikayla Barondeau recorded 13 points with Jenna Higgins adding 10. The Wolves were 18 of 55 from the field for 32.7 percent, going 4 of 15 behind the three point line and 2 of 2 at the free throw stripe.
WSC will now advance to the NSIC Sanford Health Women’s Basketball Tournament semi-finals in Rochester, Minnesota on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The ‘Cats will face either Minnesota Duluth or Minnesota State, whose game scheduled for Wednesday night was postponed until Thursday at 3:00 p.m. due to a snowstorm in the Duluth area.