The University of Mary made 14 of 16 free throws and held off Wayne State 68-63 in Northern Sun Conference women’s basketball Friday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. The ‘Cats are now 6-18 and 3-18 in the NSIC while the Marauders improve to 19-10 and 15-6 in the league.
Wayne State never led in the contest but battled the Marauders throughout the contest.
Mary opened the contest with an early 9-2 lead, but WSC battled back and was within one at 14-13 following a Maya Fitzpatrick basket with 1:35 to go in the quarter.
The Marauders built a pair of six-point leads in the second quarter and again the ‘Cats closed within one at 26-25 on a three-point play by Britney Ho with 6:30 to play in the first half.
WSC shot 50 percent in the second quarter (7-14) and closed the half trailing 35-32.
After UMary opened the third quarter with a basket for a 37-32 lead, WSC used a Fitzpatrick basket and 3-pointer to tie the score at 37-37.
The Marauders pushed the lead to five again at 46-41 and finished the quarter with a 50-47 advantage on the Wildcats despite another 50 percent shooting performance by WSC (7-14) in the quarter.
WSC crept within one point early in the fourth quarter at 52-51 on a Brooklyn Kruse basket with 8:26 to go in the game.
The Marauders then held the ‘Cats scoreless until the 2:15 mark while scoring eight straight points for a 60-51 lead. WSC pulled within five a couple more times but UMary sealed the win canning 6 of 6 free throws late for a 68-63 win.
Britney Ho led all scorers with 23 points for Wayne State, making 10 of 20 shots from the field. Fitzpatrick also hit double figures with 17 points.
Wayne State shot 48 percent for the game making 26 of 54 shots. The ‘Cats were 3 of 6 from the 3-point line and 8 for 10 at the charity stripe.
Lexie Schneider and Megan Zander each scored 16 points for the University of Mary. Mariah McKeever added 15 points with Bergen Kinnebrew scoring 12.
UMary made 24 of 50 shots from the field for 48 percent, going 6 for 14 behind the arc and 14 of 16 at the free throw line.
The Marauders held a 30-25 edge in rebounding as Ho hauled in nine caroms for the Wildcats. Fitzpatrick and Tate Norblade each had four assists while Norblade had a team-high three steals.
The Wildcats close out the season on Saturday hosting Northern State in a 3:30 p.m. contest on Senior Day in Rice Auditorium.
Wayne State shot a season-high 58.1 percent from the field as all 14 Wildcat players scored in a 96-55 victory over the University of Mary Friday evening in Northern Sun Conference men’s basketball at Rice Auditorium in Wayne. WSC is now 15-13 and 8-13 in the NSIC while UMary is 7-20 and 2-19 in the league.
The Wildcats never trailed in the contest, building an early 16-6 lead at the 11:33 mark on a Noah Erickson 3-pointer.
Wayne State’s lead grew to 17 at the under five media timeout at 29-12 and the ‘Cats closed the half with a 45-19 lead thanks 51 percent shooting (18-35) while WSC held UMary to just 28 percent shooting on 8 of 26.
WSC continued to extend their lead in the second half, growing to a game-high 47 points (90-43) with just under three minutes to play and all 14 Wildcats scored in the 96-55 win as Wayne State shot a blistering 66.7 percent (18 of 27) in the second half.
Alec Millender led Wayne State in scoring with 21 points, making 8 of 13 shots from the field. He also had six assists and three steals. Sean Stokes also hit double figures with 12 points making 5 of 6 shots.
WSC made 36 of 62 shots for a season-best 58.1 percent. The ‘Cats were 13 of 25 from 3-point range and 11 of 14 at the line.
Xavier Lewis scored 16 points for UMary making 7 of 9 shots with Alex Mattes scoring 15 points.
The Marauders shot 35.7 percent making 20 of 56 shots, going 5 for 24 behind the arc and 10 of 14 at the free throw line.
WSC had one more rebound than UMary 33-32. Noah Erickson had a team-high five rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Wildcats conclude the regular season on Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m. hosting Northern State.
