The Wayne State women’s and men’s basketball teams both came away with wins Friday in NSIC action against Upper Iowa.
In the women’s matchup, freshman forward Josey Ryan scored a career-high 21 points and Wayne State outscored Upper Iowa 44-26 in the second half to pull away for a 86-59 win. Northern Sun Conference women’s basketball victory Friday night at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.
Wayne State (6-1, 2-0 NSIC) never trailed in the contest although the Peacocks kept the game close much of the first half.
The Wildcats took a 15-4 lead at the 5:32 mark of the first quarter following an Erin Norling basket and WSC finished the opening stanza with a 24-16 advantage. Upper Iowa got as close as five at 28-23, but Wayne State stormed back and pushed the lead back to 12 at 42-30 before finishing the half with a 42-33 lead.
The third quarter saw UIU stay close early as the Peacocks trailed 46-39 with 7:07 to play in the quarter before Wayne State put the game out of reach with a 15-2 run and held a 61-44 lead after three quarters. They outscored Upper Iowa 25-15 in the fourth quarter to finish off the 17-point victory.
Ryan led all scorers with her career-best 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. Other Wildcats reaching double figures were Halley Busse with 14, Erin Norling with 12 and Brittany Bongartz with 11.
Wayne State held a 40-31 edge in rebounding over Upper Iowa thanks to seven boards from Norling. Busse had six of Wayne State’s 24 assists on the night to go with a team-high three steals.
In the men’s game, Wayne State opened the second half with a 12-0 run to break open a one-point game at the half to pull away for an 88-69 win over the Peacocks.
The first half was a back and forth battle, featuring nine lead changes and five ties. Upper Iowa led 23-21 at the 6:41 mark before Wayne State reeled off 10 straight points, eight coming from Nick Ferrarini, for a 31-23 lead.
Wayne State (4-6, 1-1 NSIC) was still leading 38-29 with three minutes left, but Upper Iowa closed the half with the final eight points to make the score 38-37 at halftime. The Wildcats opened the second half by scoring the first 12 points for a 50-37 lead with 16:27 to play and were never threatened after that.
Ferrarini led four Wildcats in double figures with 19 points. Jordan Janssen notched his seventh double-double of the year with 17 points and 21 rebounds. The 21 rebounds is tied for fifth most in a single game by a Wildcat, and the most since David Allen’s 21 rebounds against Northwest Missouri State on February 15, 1983.
Other Wildcats in double figures were Al’Tavius Jackson with 14 points and Nate Thayer with 12.
Wayne State held a sizeable 50-26 advantage in rebounding over the Peacocks thanks to 21 caroms by Janssen. Janssen and Jackson each had four assists while Janssen recorded five blocked shots with Ben Dentlinger adding three.
Wayne State takes on Winona State in a women’s-men’s doubleheader Saturday at Rice Auditorium, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
