Wayne’s guards handled the bulk of the scoring Thursday as the fourth-seeded Blue Devils knocked off top-seeded Guardian Angels Central Catholic with a 46-42 win in the semifinals of the Mid State Conference tournament at Northeast Community College.
Kelsey Boyer hit a pair of 3-pointers to get Wayne off to a 7-0 lead early in the game. Wayne led by as many as eight points before the Bluejays came back with a 9-0 run to take a 14-13 lead. Wayne responded, with freshman Frankie Klausen hitting a 3-pointer at the end of the first half to give Wayne an 18-16 advantage.
Wayne hit three 3-pointers to start the second half. Boyer opened with a trey and Klausen hit back-to-back bombs to give Wayne its biggest lead of the night at 27-16. After the Bluejays ended the run, Kylie Hammer drained a trifecta to put the lead back at 11 at 30-19 late in the third period.
GACC scored 14 straight points to come back and take a 32-30 lead early in the fourth quarter before Klausen’s fourth 3-pointer of the night gave the lead back to Wayne at 33-32. GACC led 39-37 midway through the final period when Hammer was fouled on a 3-pointer and converted all three free throws to give Wayne the lead for good at 40-39. Hammer made a key steal and converted to give Wayne the momentum, and Klausen finished the game with two clutch free throws to send the Blue Devils into Saturday’s 6 p.m. championship game against Crofton.
Wayne’s guards scored all but two of the team’s points as they improved to 16-5 on the season. Hammer led the way with 21 points, Klausen added 14 and Boyer put in nine. Morgan Keating accounted for two points.
