Box Score

WAYNE, Neb. – Laura Kramer and Sara Leidall combined for 31 points and the Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team grabbed two decisive offensive rebounds down the stretch to hand Wayne State a 67-62 conference loss Wednesday night in Wayne, Neb.

SMSU improves to 13-16 (5-14 NSIC), while WSC drops to 14-12 (11-8 NSIC).

Kramer finished the evening hitting six of 14 from the field and netting 16 points; she also snagged a team-high eight rebounds.  Leidall was seven of 18 from the field for 15 points.  Tori Fink also added 10 points.

Megan Stadler dished out 10 assists, which tied her career high in the category.

Mara Hjelle's 16 points and 11 rebounds led WSC.

The Mustangs opened the game on a 7-0 run fueled by a pair of buckets from Kramer and a three-pointer from Fink.

That run was followed by another dominant Mustang surge as SMSU put together 10 more unanswered points that came via a pair of back-to-back three pointers from Oakland and Megan Wittkop and two 10-footers from Fink and Kramer.  The spurt put the Mustangs up 19-6.

The Mustangs scorched the nets in the contest's first 10 minutes, drilling 11 field goals on 15 attempts for a sparkling 73.3 percent average from the field.

And SMSU's stellar stroke would not fade fast as Wittkop nailed another three-pointer with just under four minutes remaining in the first half to give the Mustangs a 13-point lead at 34-21.

A rallying Wayne State squad cut into the SMSU double-digit lead just before the end of the first half as Claire Duwelius took advantage of Wildcat fast break to convert on a lay-up and make the score 35-27.

The Mustangs had led by as many as 16 points in the first half.

Kramer led the Mustangs with 10 points at the break, hitting five of nine from the field.  SMSU shot 46.7 percent from the field, including six of nine from behind the arc.

The eight-point Mustangs lead quickly turned into a two-point advantage for SMSU in the fresh half; WSC coupled a pair of quick buckets with a pair of Mustangs turnovers and inched to within two points at 35-33 just a minute deep into the second half.

Just a few possessions later WSC's Julie Ann Wagner connected on a three-pointer to get her Wildcats within one point at 38-37.  SMSU held off the surge and held on to its lead for the next 12 minutes.

However, WSC took its first lead of the game with just over five minutes remaining when Cook hit a lay-up to put the Wildcats up 54-52.

A trio of ties littered the next two minutes before Stadler regained the Mustang lead with a pair of free throws to make it 59-58.

But the host Wildcats had a next-possession answer, netting another short-range bucket to retake a one-point lead.

Both squads converted a pair of free throws on the ensuing possessions; WSC still clung to a one-point advantage.

But it was Abby Oakland who came up big, drawing a foul on a three-point attempt, sinking all three shots from the line and forcing a Wildcat turnover on the next trip down the floor.

After the Oakland steal, SMSU nearly had a turnover of its own on the subsequent possession as Oakland found Kramer just before the shot clock expired and the sophomore was able to get a shot up--but just moments before the horn sounded.

Kramer's attempt was off the mark, but Fink came up with another Mustang offensive board.  Stadler drew a foul and converted on one of her two free throws, setting up another huge Mustang offensive board, this time courtesy of Kramer.

Oakland drew a foul with only 11 seconds remaining and drained both her attempts from the charity stripe to make the final score 67-62.

SMSU shot 50 percent from behind the arc in the victory.

The Mustangs host Northern State on Saturday at 6 p.m. in their regular season finale.