Wayne native Kylie Hammer tossed in a career-high 21 points off the bench on 7-of-13 shooting to lead Wayne State to an 80-76 win over Augustana University in the Northern Sun Conference women’s basketball opener for both teams Saturday at Rice Auditorium.
Wayne State opened with the first four points of the game, but Augustana controlled the rest of the opening stanza and held an 18-13 lead after 10 minutes of play. The Vikings held the lead for nearly the entire second quarter, but Wayne State stayed close and forged a 32-32 tie heading into halftime.
The third quarter saw the two teams exchange the lead 17 times, but a scoring surge by Wayne State in the final 90 seconds of the quarter gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
With Augustana leading 53-52, Wayne State used a 15-2 run in the final 1:40 of the third quarter and highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Hammer to end the quarter, including a 35-footer that banked in at the buzzer to give Wayne State a 63-55 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Augustana rallied and got as close as two on a Vishe’ Rabb layup with 1:51 to play to make it 76-74. Wayne State sealed the win in the final 12 seconds with free throws by Halley Busse and Hammer to close out the win.
Hammer led five Wildcats in double figures with a career-high 21 points, going 7-of-13 from the field and 4-for-6 behind the arc. Brittany Bongartz contributed a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Erin Norling and Busse each scored 12 points with Haley Vesey adding a season-best 11 off the bench.
Wayne State held a 44-38 advantage in rebounding over the Vikings thanks to 10 caroms by Bongartz and eight each from Josey Ryan and Hammer. Hammer handed out five assists and also had a team-best three steals.
The win for Wayne State, now 5-1 and 1-0 in the NSIC, snapped a four-game losing streak in the series to Augustana. The Wildcats will be at home next weekend for Northern Sun Conference games, hosting Upper Iowa Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Winona State Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
