Box Score

WAYNE, Neb.- Southwest Minnesota State led by as many as seven in a second quarter in which the Mustangs shot 78 percent (7-of-9) from the field but a strong third quarter run from Wayne State gave the Wildcats a lead they never surrendered in a 78-70 win over SMSU on Saturday night in the Rice Auditorium.

Southwest Minnesota State (1-11, 1-7 NSIC) suffers from a sixth straight loss while Wayne State (10-3, 5-3 NSIC) captures a fifth straight victory. SMSU held a 27-24 rebounding advantage and a 34-30 advantage in points in the paint, but the Mustangs' 21 turnovers led to 24 Wildcats' points. Wayne State's Maggie Schulte led both teams with 21 points and four second half three pointers from the Wildcats kept the Mustangs at bay.
 
Caleigh Roding led SMSU in scoring for a second straight night and Abby Connell scored a career high 14 points in the loss as four Mustang players reached double digits in scoring. Taylor Holicky (14) and Lauren Hedlund (15) also reached double figures while Holicky also notched her second double-double of the year with 10 rebounds as well.
 
Both teams came out slow offensively as SMSU and Wayne State shot just 36 percent and 43 percent respectively in the game's opening quarter. The two teams traded the lead twice with two ties in a quarter that saw a combined 13 total turnovers.
 
SMSU saw its offense heat up in the second with its best offensive quarter so far this season. The Mustangs 7-of-9 shooting included a perfect 3-of-3 from Rodning who also went 6-of-6 from the line to add 12 points during the second. Connell hit her first of two second quarter three's to give the Mustangs a seven point lead (its largest of the game) with 3:39 to play and SMSU closed the first half with a 38-34 lead.
 
Wayne State opened the second half with a 13-3 run in the third quarter to take the lead back for good. Schulte scored seven points in the quarter and Wayne State went 7-of-12 (58 percent) while SMSU went just 4-of-14 shooting as the Wildcats held a 56-51 lead going into the fourth.
 
The Mustangs scored all but one of their fourth quarter points in the paint but suffered from seven turnovers as the Wildcats led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter on their way to a fifteenth consecutive victory over Southwest Minnesota State.
 
SMSU will return to action next weekend at home as it hosts Winona State on Friday at 6 p.m., and Upper Iowa on Saturday at 5 p.m.