Erin Norling and Kylie Hammer combined for 48 points as Wayne State defeated Black Hills State 84-74 in a non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon at the Donald Young Center in Spearfish, S.D.
Both teams struggled scoring the ball early, but Norling connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Wildcat offense come alive as the Wildcats ended the opening stanza with a 19-14 lead.
The Yellow Jackets kept the game close early in the second quarter trailing 28-24 at the 7:37 mark, but Wayne State scored the next nine points over the next 2:45, capped by consecutive baskets from Norling to take their first double-digit lead of the night at 37-24 before finishing the first half with a 45-34 advantage.
Black Hills State scored the first five points of the third quarter to get within six at 45-39 and was as close as four at 52-48 at the 4:53 mark before the Wildcats pushed the lead back to double digits at 62-51 on a Kylie Hammer layup with 2:18 left in the quarter.
Wayne State led 65-57 as the Yellow Jackets closed within five (65-60) to open the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats responded and pushed the lead back to double digits again at 75-62 and maintained a double figure advantage until the end, holding off a late Yellow Jackets run that got as close as six points before Wayne State answered to hold on for the win.
Norling ended with a game-high 28 points to go with a career-best 12 rebounds. Kylie Hammer poured in a career-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Also reaching double figures were freshman Josey Ryan (14) and Halley Busse (13).
Wayne State held a 47-37 advantage in rebounding thanks to 12 caroms from Norling and nine each from Josey Ryan and Brittney Bongartz. Norling also had three blocked shots and three steals while Busse was credited with four assists.
Wayne State (4-1) will play their final non-conference game of the season Tuesday, hosting Mount Marty College in a 7 p.m. contest at Rice Auditorium.
