Wayne State finished its latest home weekend with two exciting wins over Minot State Saturday at Rice Auditorium.
In women’s action, Erin Norling made a three-point play off a steal with 11.4 seconds to play, giving the Wildcats a dramatic 73-72 win over the Beavers to improve to 15-7 overall and 10-6 in NSIC play.
Wayne State led 24-22 after one and led by as many as 11 on a Norling 3-pointer before taking a 42-40 lead into the locker room.
Minot State got hot from the floor in the second half and took a 66-61 lead with less than seven minutes to go, but the Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run, capped by a Kylie Hammer layup with 4:29 to go, to take a 68-66 lead.
Minot State reclaimed the lead with under a minute to go, but the Wildcats got a big steal by Hammer that led to a basket by Norling, who was fouled with 11.4 seconds to play and converted the go-ahead free throw to give Wayne State the win.
Josey Ryan paced five Wildcats in double figures with 16 points, followed by Norling with 13 and Brittany Bongartz, Haley Vesey and Hammer with 10 apiece.
Norling grabbed nine boards to lead the Wildcats. Busse had a career-best nine assist and added three steals.
In men’s action, Wayne State moved its winning streak to four games and improved to 10-15 (7-9 NSIC) with a 71-62 win over the Beavers.
In a tightly contested first half that featured seven ties and six lead changes, the two teams battled back and forth until a late scoring surge by the Wildcats in the final three minutes of the half changed the tone of the contest.
Minot State held a 19-16 lead at the 10:59 mark of the first half. Wayne State used back-to-back 3-pointers from Henry Penner and Nick Ferrarini to take a 22-19 lead.
Late in the first half, Wayne State took the lead for good, scoring the final 10 points of the period and capped by a Nate Mohr 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 41-31, and Minot State would get no closer than six after that.
Midway through the second half, Minot State made a charge and got as close as six at 52-46 with 10:12 remaining, but the Wildcats scored eight straight points, the final two on a Ben Dentlinger jam with 4:41 to go for a 60-46 that put the game out of reach.
Jordan Janssen finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season. Al’Tavius Jackson accounted for 13 points while Mohr and Ferrarini also hit double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Janssen handed out seven assists while Dentlinger finished with two blocks.
Wayne State hits the road next weekend, playing at St. Cloud State Friday at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Minnesota Duluth Saturday at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
