WAYNE, Neb. - The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team (16-11, 14-8 NSIC) secured the fifth seed in the NSIC Tournament on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Wayne State Wildcats (10-18, 5-17 NSIC) 58-46 in Wayne, Neb.
Audrey Swanson led the way for SMSU with 12 points and 10 rebounds for her third straight double double. Nicole Maenke and Brynn Busse each scored 11 points, shooting a combined 6 of 14 from 3-point range, and Kylan Gerads added 10 points and eight boards.
SMSU shot 34 percent from the floor as a team (21 of 6) and 35 percent from deep (9 of 26). The Mustangs outrebounded WSC 44-30 (16-5 on the offensive glass), leading in steals 11-8, and forced 18 total Wildcat turnovers. WSC was led in scoring by Kylah vanDonkersgoed with 13 points, shooting 35 percent from the field (18 of 52) and 24 percent from deep (4 of 17).
The Wildcats opened the game shooting 4 of 5 from the field with four points from Rachel Dahlen before the Mustangs made 5 of 6 after missing the first two from the floor. Nicole Maenke and Brynn Busse led SMSU with five points each in the opening quarter, shooting 62 percent from the floor as a team, leading 23-17 heading into the second.
Neither team shot the ball efficiently in the second quarter, however the Mustangs got the better of the Wildcats shooting 2 of 5 from downtown while WSC could not convert on any of their three attempts. SMSU ended the first half shooting 50 percent from the floor and 42 percent from 3-point range, leading 37-27 at the halfway points. Maenke and Busse led the way for SMSU with eight points each.
The third quarter was much of the same as the second, as neither team shot higher than 30 percent from the floor. Despite SMSU outrebounding the Wildcats 14-11 and 6-0 on the offensive glass, each team scored nine points in the quarter, making the score 46-36 heading into the final quarter.
SMSU continued to apply the high defensive pressure on the Wildcats and helped their cause shooting 3 of 7 from behind the 3-point line. The Mustangs only committed five turnovers in the second half, and despite Wayne State shooting 39 percent from the field as compared to SMSU's 29 percent, the previously mentioned 3-point shooting helped the Mustangs pull away 58-46.
The Mustangs now await an opponent for the first round of the NSIC Tournament, which will be announced Saturday evening. The game will be played at the R/A Facility on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m. The game will be streaming live on the NSIC Network. NSIC Tournament information can be found at northernsun.org/tournaments.
