Wayne State led from start to finish, but had to hold off a fourth quarter rally by the University of Jamestown to defeat the Jimmies 65-56 Friday at the Radison Hotel MSP North Women’s Basketball Classic in St. Paul, Minn.
The Wildcats got into early foul trouble in the contest and called on the bench to provide a spark as 12 of Wayne State’s 19 first quarter points were scored by reserves.
Sophomore reserve forward Andrea Larson poured in nine points off the bench while freshman Amanda Brainerd drained a 3-pointer that boosted the Wildcats to a 19-8 lead after one quarter. Wayne State ended the quarter scoring the final 10 points in the final 2:44 to take their first double-digit lead.
Jamestown got within five at 23-18 with 5:23 to play second quarter before the Wildcats used a pair of Anna Martensen layups to end the half with a 33-24 advantage.
The third quarter saw the Wildcats outscore Jamestown 17-11, thanks to an 11-4 run late in the quarter, that gave the Wildcats a 50-35 lead after three quarters. A three-point play by Larson gave Wayne State its biggest lead of the game at 50-32 with 1:41 to play in the quarter.
The Wildcats still held a 15-point lead at 52-37 with 9:15 remaining when the Jimmies made a rally on the Wildcats. Jamestown got as close at 56-50 with 3:29 to play, but the Wildcats responded with a pair of Haley Moore free throws and a Kacie O’Connor 3-pointer to back up 61-50 and Wayne State hit 4-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
Larson led Wayne State in scoring with a career-high 16 points off the bench, going 7-of-12 from the field but just 2-of-7 at the charity stripe. Martensen also reached double figures with 13 points and led Wayne State on the glass with nine caroms while Kacie O’Connor added 10 points, all in the second half.
Martensen had nine rebounds for the Wildcats followed by Larson with seven. O’Connor and Moore each had five assists for the Wildcats while Martensen notched a career-high six steals. Paige Ballinger had four of WSC’s seven blocks.
The Wildcats (4-1) will play again Saturday afternoon in the Radison Hotel MSP North Classic, battling Concordia-Portland (Ore.) in a 12 p.m. contest.
