Following three consecutive home doubleheaders, the Wayne State College men’s and women’s basketball team were back on the road.
From Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston, Minnesota, WSC visited Minnesota Crookston on Friday.
The Wayne State College men held onto a 78-76 victory while the Wildcat women suffered a 70-67 loss against the host Golden Eagles.
In the men’s game, both teams scored 38 points in the first half as WSC won the second half battle, 40-38. The host Golden Eagles had a 10 point lead with 9:30 left in the game followed by WSC putting together 12 consecutive points. Fifth-year senior Cody McCullough hit one of two foul shots as Minnesota Crookston missed the potential game winning three at the buzzer. Final favored Wayne State College winning 78-76 to win their fourth straight improving to 12-7 (6-7 NSIC) as the Golden Eagles dropped their eighth straight falling to 3-16 (2-11 NSIC).
Wayne State College leaders were McCullough (9-13 FG/8-11 FT) with a career-high 26 points, seven rebounds and one assist; freshman Matt Noll (5-11 FG/0-1 3PT/8-14 FT) added 18 points, five rebounds and two steals as sophomore JJ Ferrin (3-11 FG/3-8 3PT/5-6 FT) followed with 14 points, two rebounds two steals and an assist.
Other scoring came from fifth-year senior Sean Stokes (three rebounds/one steal) with eight points, junior transfer Kai Smith (three rebounds) tallied six points; fifth-year senior Jay Saunders (four rebounds/one assist/one steal/one block) tacked on four points as sophomore Landon Classen (one steal) scored two points.
The Wildcats shot 24-57 (42.1%) from the field, 5-19 (26.3%) from the three-point line and 25-36 (69.4%) at the charity stripe.
Minnesota Crookston was led by Reid Grant with 35 points, Andrew Stokes followed with 16 points as Micah Garrett added 10 points.
The Golden Eagles finished 27-53 (50.9%) from the floor, 6-21 (28.6%) behind the arc and 16-17 (94.1%) from the foul line.
Wayne State College won the rebounding battle 34-31 including 14 – six offensively which led by 20 second chance points compared to UMC with six second chance points. WSC scored 11 points off of 11 Minnesota Crookston turnovers while the Golden Eagles scored 10 points off of seven Wayne State College turnovers.
WSC won the battle in the paint (36-26) as Minnesota Crookston won fast break scoring (12-9) and bench scoring (10-8).
During the women’s outing, Minnesota Crookston took the early 15-12 first quarter lead followed by a 21-19 second quarter to go up 36-31 at half. WSC chipped away at the deficit thanks to a 22-17 third quarter and took a five point lead early in the fourth quarter at 60-55 with about eight minutes left. The Golden Eagles hit late foul shots and won the fourth, 17-14. Final favored Minnesota Crookston winning 70-67 to improve to 7-12 (5-8 NSIC) snapping a three-game losing streak as WSC fell to 9-8 (6-7 NSIC).
Wayne State College leaders were senior Maya Fitzpatrick (5-12 FG/1-2 3PT/6-6 FT) with 17 points (13 in second half), six rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one assist; senior Delaney Clark (7-13 FG/3-7 3PT) also scored 17 points with one rebound as junior Kylah VanDonkersgoed (5-16 FG/3-8 3PT/3-4 FT) followed with 16 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Other scoring came from senior Tate Norblade (seven rebounds/two assists/one steal) with five points; sophomore Brooklyn Kruse (five rebounds/one assist) with five points as two-point scoring came from senior Carsyn Boswell (three rebounds/one assist/one block), junior Meg Rietz (five rebounds/one assist/two blocks), senior Abby Kopecky (five rebounds/one assist/two blocks) and junior Rachel Dahlen (two rebounds/one block).
The Wildcats shot 23-62 (37.1%) from the field, 7-19 (36.8%) from the three-point line and 14-16 (87.5%) at the charity stripe.
Minnesota Crookston was led by Emma Miller with 24 points and seven rebounds, Nicole Hernandez followed with 18 points and eight rebounds as Riley Jenkins added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Golden Eagles finished 27-65 (41.5%) from the floor, 5-17 (29.4%) behind the arc and 11-13 (84.6%) from the foul line.
Wayne State College won the rebounding battle, 40-39 including 11-10 offensively which led by 10 second chance points compared to UMC with five second chance points. WSC scored nine points off of nine Minnesota Crookston turnovers while the Golden Eagles scored 14 points off of 11 Wayne State College turnovers.
Minnesota Crookston won the battle in the paint (32-24) and fast break scoring (12-9) as WSC won bench scoring (25-6).
