Freshmen Halley Busse and Haley Vesey combined for 34 points to lead Wayne State in an easy 88-48 win Friday over Peru State College in non-conference action at Rice Auditorium.
Wayne State never trailed in the contest as the Wildcat bench produced 60 of the team’s 88 points.
The Wildcats led 8-4 early and Peru State got within one at 8-7 following a Abigail Niebrugge 3-pointer. Wayne State then scored the next eight points and took their first double-digit lead at 19-9 on an Evelyn Knox 3-pointer with 1:54 to play first quarter. The Wildcats finished the first quarter with a 26-12 lead and outscored the Bobcats 18-15 in the second quarter to build a 44-27 lead at intermission.
Wayne State opened the second half with a 16-4 run to take a commanding 60-31 lead with 3:24 to play third quarter and finished the stanza with a 66-36 lead. Reserves dominated play in the final 10 minutes with the Wildcats holding a 22-12 advantage in scoring over Peru State.
Busse led the Wildcats with 20 points, going 7-for-7 from the field (3-of-3 behind the arc) and 3-of-5 at the charity stripe. Vesey also reached double figures with 14 points, going 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
Wayne State outrebounded the Bobcats 49-22 thanks to six boards each from Maggie Schulte, Paige Ballinger, Taylor Wangerin and Brittany Bongartz. Amanda Brainerd, Busse and Anna Eckert each had three assists while Busse was credited with five steals. Ballinger and Wangerin each had two blocked shots.
Wayne State (5-3) will be at home again Sunday, hosting UC-Colorado Springs in a 2 p.m. non-conference game at Rice Auditorium.
