WAYNE, Neb.- An impressive Southwest Minnesota State defense held Wayne State College to 29 percent shooting and forced 20 turnovers earning an 85-49 win in NSIC women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Rice Auditorium.

SMSU was able to hold WSC to just 28.6 percent shooting with SMSU recording an above team season average going of 45.9 percent from the field.
SMSU improves to 8-4 overall, and 6-4 NSIC fighting for the fourth-place spot in the NSIC South. Minnesota State and Sioux Falls both sit ahead of SMSU having played one more conference game (7-4) than SMSU has. All three teams will have their fate decided after next weekend with all three teams playing NSIC South teams. Wayne State drops to 6-8 overall, and 5-7 in the NSIC South. 

Sadie Stelter led her team in points and steals, recording 18 points and 4 steals in Saturdays game. Teammates Madison Gehloff and Sadie Stelter would also reach double digits in points earning 14 for Gehloff and 13 for Stelter on the afternoon. Abuk Akoi also had an impressive outing getting four blocks and five rebounds. 

Wayne State also had two members on its roster record double digit points, with the leading scorer: Kylie Hammer dropping 17 on the afternoon along with nine rebounds. Josey Ryan would put up 16 points for Wayne State.

In the first half the Mustangs where able to put up an impressive 48 shooting percentage (14 of 29) with leading scorer Sadie Stelter earning nine points and shooting 100 percent with three field goals and one three pointer. 

Late in the first quarter SMSU would go on a 12-point run that would last just under two and a half minutes. The run started with Meleah Reinhart going to the line and making both her free-throws. After layups from Baxter and Akoi, Reinhart would hit two 3-pointers in a row to end the run and push the lead to 20 (31-11). 

In the remaining three minutes of the half the Mustangs would go on a 10-3 run starting with a Gehloff layup and free-throw. Gehloff would go to the line again and make both of her free-throws along with Wall hitting a 3-pointer, the run would end with Stelter going to the line and sinking both of her free-throws. The first half would end with the Mustangs leading 45-20. 

In the second half SMSU would not take its foot off the gas securing a 19-point run, the teams largest of the afternoon, with four minutes left in the third quarter Gehloff would start the run with a layup and the run wouldn't end until the 9:38 mark in the fourth with a Reinhart layup. SMSU would score its final points of the afternoon and ice the victory with a Hannah Parsley 3-pointer with four minutes left in the quarter. 

SMSU will be back in action next weekend taking on Sioux Falls at the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., starting at 6 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.