The Wayne State women shot 50 percent from the floor while the men fell victim of a late rally as the Wildcat basketball teams traveled to St. Cloud State for an NSIC matchup Friday.
In the women’s game, the Wildcats were outrebounded 51-32, but shot 50 percent from the field to post a 75-63 win, improving to 15-5 overall and 10-5 in NSIC play.
Wayne State opened with a 7-0 run and never trailed in posting their 11th straight win over the Huskies. Wayne State led 20-12 after one period and led by as many as 11 points before taking a 37-29 halftime advantage.
The Huskies kept things close until late in the third quarter. Wayne State closed the period with an 11-4 run to take a 61-50 lead going to the final period, and never led by less than 10 points after that.
Paige Ballinger led the Wildcats with a game-high 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Anna Martensen was 8-of-9 from the field to finish with 17 points. Haley Moore hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points and had six assists and four steals.
In men’s action, St. Cloud rallied in the second half to post an 84-80 win over the Wildcats, dropping Wayne State to 6-15 overall and 4-11 in NSIC action.
Wayne State bounced back from a slow start, erasing an eight-point deficit with an 11-0 run late in the half to take a 38-29 halftime advantage.
Wayne State took its biggest lead at 41-29 on a Jordan Cornelius 3-pointer to open the second half, but St. Cloud state rallied with a 14-2 run to tie the game at 43-43 with 16:41 to play.
Wayne State kept the game close until the end, getting as close as 62-60 on two Kendall Jacks free throws with 7:47 to go. They had a chance to tie the game late, but missed three of four free throws and the Huskies were able to hang on for the win.
Jacks and Cornelius each had 14 points while Brian Goodwin and Vance Janssen had 13 points apiece in the losing effort for the Wildcats. Jacks had six rebounds and Luke TerHark dished out four assists.
Wayne State will be on the road again Saturday evening, visiting Minnesota Duluth in games at 4 and 6 p.m.
