It was right back to the road to start 2025 for Wayne State College basketball.
From the BSU Gymnasium in Bemidji, Minnesota, WSC visited Bemidji State University on Friday.
The Wayne State College women won 71-64 in double overtime while the Wildcat men suffered a 76-68 loss against BSU.
In the women’s game, Wayne State College held the 11-9 first quarter lead and then used a 15-14 advantage in the second quarter to go up 26-23 at half. WSC won the third, 14-13 as Bemidji State outscored the Wildcats, 23-19 in the fourth including three made foul shots with 2.5 seconds to tie the game at 59-59. Senior Maya Fitzpatrick would have a look to win the game in regulation but missed.
Both teams scored two points in the first overtime tied at 61-61 until the Wildcats picked up a 10-3 second overtime. Final favored Wayne State College winning 71-64 over Bemidji State in double overtime to improve to 7-5 (4-4 NSIC) as the Beavers fell to 3-8 (1-6 NSIC).
Wayne State College leaders came from a career-high tying night for Fitzpatrick (6-18 FG/1-7 3PT/9-11 FT) with 22 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal as sophomore Brooklyn Kruse (4-7 FG/6-8 FT) followed with 14 points, two rebounds and three assists.
Other scoring came from senior Tate Norblade (six rebounds/two assists/two steals/one block) and junior Meg Rietz (six rebounds/two assists/one steal/three blocks) both with nine points; junior Kyla VanDonkersgoed (eight rebounds/one assist/one block) added seven points as five-point scoring came from seniors Carsyn Boswell (seven rebounds/one steal) and Delaney Clark (five rebounds).
The Wildcats finished 24-64 (37.5%) from the field, 5-22 (22.7%) from behind the arc and 18-23 (78.3%) at the foul line.
Bemidji State was led in scoring by Erin Barrette with 19 points as Janette Hanni added 13 points.
The Beavers shot 23-74 (31.1%) from the floor, 5-17 (29.4%) from the three-point line and 13-19 (68.4%) behind the charity stripe.
Wayne State College outrebounded Bemidji State, 53-35 including 12 to 8 offensive which led to nine second chance points compared to six second chance points for BSU. WSC scored 14 points off of 13 Beaver turnovers while Bemidji State scored 16 points off of 23 Wildcat turnovers.
Bemidji State won the battle in the paint (36-32), fast break scoring (6-4) and bench scoring (22-19).
During the men’s outing, Wayne State College held a slight 33-32 lead at the half. Bemidji State outscored WSC, 44-35 in the second half. Final favored the host Beavers winning 76-68 to improve to 6-7 (3-4 NSIC) as the Wildcats fell to 8-6 (2-6 NSIC).
Wayne State College leaders were freshman Matt Noll (7-15 FG/1-3 3PT/3-7 FT) with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block; junior transfer Kai Smith (5-10 FG/2-5 3PT/5-5 FT) followed with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals; fifth-year senior Noah Erickson (4-8 FG/3-6 3PT) added 11 points and five rebounds as sophomore JJ Ferrin (4-11 FG/1-8 3PT/1-2 FT) tallied 10 points, two rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Other scoring came from fifth-year senior Jay Saunders (three rebounds/two assists) with eight points as fifth-year senior Cody McCullough in his first game back since December 13 fouled out (one rebound) with four points in 14:28 of court time.
The Wildcats finished 25-62 (40.3%) from the field, 8-29 (27.6%) from behind the arc and 10-17 (58.8%) at the foul line.
Bemidji State was led in scoring by Jareon Mayo off the bench with 24 points (three made three’s/9-10 FT) as John Sutherland added 19 points. Both Tate Olson and Daxton Dayley recorded 10 rebounds.
The Beavers shot 27-55 (49.1%) from the floor, 6-20 (30%) from the three-point line and 16-22 (72.7%) behind the charity stripe.
Bemidji State outrebounded Wayne State, 39-28 including 11 to 9 offensive which led to 13 second chance points compared to 11 second chance points for the Wildcats. WSC scored 24 points off of 17 Beaver turnovers while Bemidji State scored 14 points off of nine Wildcat turnovers.
Bemidji State won the battle in the paint (34-26) and bench scoring (34-21) as WSC won fast break scoring (9-4).
