Wayne State started slow, but used a strong ending to the second quarter and a 25-8 third quarter scoring advantage to break away from Bellevue for an 84-42 non-conference women’s basketball victory Wednesday evening at Rice Auditorium.
Bellevue stayed close to the Wildcats early in the contest. The Bruins held an early 9-6 lead, then WSC scored the next seven points thanks to a Britney Ho three-point play and a 3-pointer by Carsyn Boswell to take a 13-9 lead.
WSC’s biggest lead of the quarter was four until a pair of Jordon Heckert free throws with 19 seconds left in the quarter gave the ‘Cats a 23-18 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Bellevue shut the down the Wildcats for the first part of the second quarter, holding WSC scoreless until the 4:25 mark when a Brooklyn Kruse basket gave WSC a 25-23 lead. The ‘Cats then went on a scoring spree to end the first half, outscoring the Bruins 16-3 to take a 41-26 lead at intermission.
WSC put the game out of reach in the third quarter, holding the Bruins without a basket until the 3:24 mark of the third quarter. By that time, the Wildcats had outscored Bellevue 17-0 to take a 58-27 lead.
The Wildcats outscored Bellevue 25-8 in the third quarter and 18-8 in the fourth quarter to finish with an 84-42 victory in the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women’s basketball.
Ho produced a game-high 19 points for the Wildcats. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Delaney Clark and Jordon Heckert each hit double figures with 11 points.
Maya Fitzpatrick had six assists with Clark adding five. Heckert and Tate Norblade each recorded three steals.
The Wildcats (2-0) return to action Tuesday when the Wildcats open Northern Sun Conference play, hosting Southwest Minnesota State at 7:30 p.m. in Rice Auditorium.
