The Wayne State men’s and women’s basketball teams saw action Saturday at home against Winona State with a pair of exciting matchups at Rice Auditorium.
In the women’s game, Winona State outscored Wayne State 26-16 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 76-73 win to stay unbeaten at 7-0 overall and 3-0 in NSIC play, handing Wayne State (6-2, 2-1 NSIC) its first loss in conference play.
The Wildcats led for nearly the entire game, taking an early 13-7 lead on the Warriors before they rallied for a 17-15 advantage. Wayne State tied the game at 19-19 after one period, then led by 10 at the half, 41-31.
The Wildcats led by as many as 11 and had a 57-50 lead going to the fourth, but Winona State hit 4-of-6 from 3-point range in the final quarter and took the lead in the final minute to come away with the win.
Brittany Bongartz and Halley Busse each scored 18 points to lead Wayne State followed by Erin Norling with 11.
Norling led the team in rebounds with eight and Busse handed out six assists, followed by Norling and Lauren Zacharias with three apiece.
In men’s action, Wayne State rallied from a 59-53 deficit with 4:30 to play and used clutch baskets in the final minute to defeat Winona State 70-63.
The Wildcats (5-6, 2-1 NSIC) took early leads of 9-0 and 11-3, but soon found themselves down to Winona State 14-11 at the 11:16 mark.
Winona State maintained the advantage the rest of the first half and built a 30-21 lead before Wayne State cut the deficit to 30-27 at intermission.
With the score tied at 38-38 early in the second half (15:49), the Wildcats used baskets from Ben Dentlinger and a 3-pointer from Nick Ferrarini to grab a 45-40 lead at the 12:50 mark. Wayne State still held a 47-44 lead with 9:18 to play before Winona State put together an 11-2 run to go in front 55-49 with 6:34 remaining.
The Warriors still led 59-53 with 4:43 to play when the Wildcats made their comeback. A Henry Penner 3-pointer, a Jordan Janssen layup and a three-point play by Nate Mohr gave the Wildcats a 61-59 lead.
Winona State’s Kevion Taylor connected from the 3-point arc to give the Warriors their last lead at 62-61, and the score was tied at 63-63 with 1:18 to play when Wayne State came up big in the final minute.
A Ferrarini 3-pointer with 59 seconds left put the Wildcats in front for good at 66-63. Mohr’s jumper right of the lane put Wayne State ahead 68-63 with 18 seconds left and Janssen sealed the win with a pair of free throws with seven seconds left.
Janssen carried the Wildcats again with his eighth double-double of the year, recording 28 points with 14 rebounds. He was 9-of-12 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 at the line. Ferrarini finished with 12 points and Mohr had 10.
Wayne State held a slight 33-30 edge in rebounding over Winona State with Janssen leading the Wildcats on the glass with 14 boards. He also had a team-high five assists and two blocked shots along with Dentlinger.
Wayne State will play their first NSIC road games of the season next weekend, starting Friday at Bemidji State with games at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. They play Saturday at Minnesota Crookston with games at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
