Truman State outscored Wayne State 42-31 in the second half, fueled by 13-17 free throw shooting, to defeat the Wildcats 67-58 Friday evening at the Subway Tip Off Women’s Basketball Classic in Quincy, Ill.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first quarter as the Bulldogs went 4-for-14 with Wayne State going 4-of-16 as Truman State held an 11-10 lead after one period.
The second quarter turned into a back-and-forth affair with seven ties and seven lead changes between the two clubs. The biggest lead of the quarter was three by Truman State as Rachel Edmundson drained a 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs in front 21-18 with 4:24 to play in the half. Wayne State closed the half strong and took a 27-25 lead, their final lead of the game, on a Halley Busse layup to close the first half.
Truman State scored the first six points of the third quarter to take the lead for good at 31-27.
A Busse 3-pointer got Wayne State within one at 33-32 with 6:09 remaining in the quarter, but the Bulldogs scored the next seven points for a 40-32 lead and took a 47-37 lead late in the third quarter before Wayne State cut the deficit to eight at 48-40 entering the fourth quarter.
Wayne State got within four several times in the fourth quarter. With Truman State leading 49-40, the Wildcats used an Erin Norling trey and a layup to close within 49-45. Wayne State was within four at 56-52 with 4:25 remaining following an Andrea Larson 3-pointer, but Truman State answered with a 3-pointer followed by a layup and two free throws to push the lead back to 11 and went on to claim the win.
Norling led Wayne State in scoring with 16 points to go with 10 rebounds for a double-double while Busse also reached double figures for the Wildcats with 14 points. Maggie Lowe had four of Wayne State’s 12 assists while Taylor Reiner recorded two blocked shots.
Wayne State (2-1) will face host Quincy University on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Subway Tip Off Classic.
