Box Score

MARSHALL, Minn.- Southwest Minnesota State (3-20, 3-16 NSIC) committed a slew of early turnovers and was never able to overcome a six point halftime deficit as Wayne State (18-6, 13-6) led the entire second half on its way to a 71-60 victory over SMSU on Friday night in the R/A Facility.

Caleigh Rodning posted a fifth consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds but also fell victim to the Mustangs' early turnover woes. Lauren Hedlund had 13 points and a career high four blocks while also grabbing three offensive boards. Jamie Spicer had a rare poor shooting night on three pointers but still reached double digits with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting overall.
 
Paige Ballinger had a game high 19 points for Wayne State while Kacie O'Connor and Anna Martensen each added 15 points. The Wildcats finished with 16 assists as a team and had 36 points in the paint to the Mustangs' 26.
 
The Mustangs struggled as a group from deep after a hot start, finishing 9-of-27 (33 percent) from behind the arc.
 
SMSU led by as many as five in the opening quarter and went 4-of-6 on three pointers in the first but SMSU gave up six turnovers in the game's first five minutes. WSC shot 47 percent from the floor in the opening quarter despite missing five three point attempts and led by two after ten minutes of play.
 
Wayne State took advantage of 10 first half steals as the Mustangs struggled to avoid turning the ball over from the game's opening tip. SMSU suffered from 14 turnovers in the opening half and trailed by six going into the break despite knocking down eight first half three pointers.
 
SMSU struggled to defend the Wildcats size inside as the Wildcats carved out 16 points in the paint in the first half. Abby Connell hit three treys in the first half to lead the Mustangs with nine points. Ballinger, who came in ranked ninth in the conference in scoring, had six points on 3-of-4 shooting in the first half while Kacie O'Connor had a game high 11 points at the break.
 
The Mustangs turned the ball over just five times in the second half after a mistake filled first half but were only able to get within four which they forced on two occasions during the third and fourth quarters.
 
A Jamie Spicer made three pointer followed by a layup from Caleigh Rodning made it a four point game with 5:14 to play in the game but WSC answered with a three of their own and stifled the Mustangs' offense in the final minutes. SMSU managed just one made field goal for the remainder of the game as the Mustangs remain in search of their first home win.

The win was a 16^th consecutive victory for the Wildcats over SMSU as WSC has now won 18 of 19 matchups.
 
The Mustangs will be back in action tomorrow evening as they host Augustana at 5 p.m., in the R/A Facility.