Nov. 20 marked an in-state showdown between Wayne State College and Nebraska-Kearney for the first WSC doubleheader of the season.
From Rice Auditorium, WSC and UNK highlighted an early Central Region showdown.
The Wayne State College women used a 10-point advantage in the fourth quarter to win 67-57 while the Wildcat men made a free throw with 8.3 seconds remaining to hold onto a 65-64 victory.
In the women’s game, WSC improved to 2-1 as the Lopers dropped back-to-back falling to 4-2.
WSC held a slight 12-11 lead after the first quarter followed by UNK answering with a 14-12 second quarter. The Lopers led 25-24 at half. The Wildcats would tie the game up thanks to a 13-12 third and go onto use a 30-20 advantage in the fourth to win 67-57.
Wayne State College was led in scoring by senior Maya Fitzpatrick (7-15 FG/1-4 3PT/6-8 FT) with 21 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks; junior Kyla VanDonkersgoed (5-9 FG/2-2 3PT/4-4 FT) posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists and one steal as senior Tate Norblade (5-8 FG/2-2 3PT/2-2 FT) followed with 14 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks.
Other leaders came from senior Abby Kopecky (three rebounds/one assist/one steal) with four points; senior Carsyn Boswell (one rebound/two assists/one steal) and senior Delaney Clark (six rebounds/three assists/one steal/one block) both had three points as two-point scoring came from junior Meg Rietz (four rebounds), sophomore Brooklyn Kruse (five rebounds/one assist) and junior Rachel Dahlen (one rebound).
Wayne State College shot 21-51 (41.2%) from the field, 7-16 (43.8%) from the three-point line and 18-21 (85.7%) at the charity stripe.
UNK leaders were Samantha Moore with 15 points as Jillian Aschoff followed with 12 points.
The Lopers finished 22-66 (33.3%) on the floor, 3-18 (16.7%) from behind the arc and 10-16 (62.5%) at the foul line.
Wayne State College outrebounded Nebraska-Kearney, 43-33 including 8 to 10 offensive which led to four second chance points compared to seven second chance points for UNK. WSC scored nine points off of 13 Loper turnovers while UNK scored 11 points off of 22 Wildcat turnovers.
UNK won the battle in the paint (34-26), fast break scoring (21-11) and bench scoring (12-11).
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During the men’s game, WSC has now won five straight to begin the season at 5-0 as the Lopers have lost four games by a combined nine points falling to 0-4.
Nebraska-Kearney led 37-30 at the break and built their lead to at-most 12 points early in the second half. WSC used a 35-27 advantage in the final 20 minutes including a 12-point scoring surge to win 65-64. Fifth-year senior Jay Saunders made the go-ahead foul shot with 8.3 seconds left in regulation.
Wayne State College was led in scoring by freshman Matt Noll (5-7 FG/3-7 FT) with 13 points, three rebounds, one steal and one block as sophomore JJ Ferrin (4-7 FG/1-2 3PT/2-3 FT) added 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal. Fifth-year senior Cody McCullough followed with eight points, 10 rebounds (two offensive) and five blocks.
Other leaders came from Sean Stokes (three rebounds/one assist) with eight points; Saunders (four rebounds/five assists/one block) and junior Kai Smith (one rebound) both had six points; fifth-year senior Noah Erickson (three rebounds/one assist) and freshman Nassir Binion (one rebound) each tallied five points as junior Ryan Blum (three rebounds/one steal) closed with three points.
Wayne State College shot 20-45 (44.4%) from the field, 5-12 (41.7%) from the three-point line and 20-29 (69%) at the charity stripe.
UNK leaders were Chase Thompson and Ja’Bryant Hill both with 13 points as Allen Taylor added 10 points.
The Lopers finished 23-61 (37.7%) on the floor, 5-20 (25%) from behind the arc and 13-20 (65%) at the foul line.
Both teams finished with 35 rebounds as Nebraska-Kearney won the offensive glass, 12-7 which led to 17 second chance points compared to 10 second chance points for the Wildcats. WSC scored 10 points off of eight Loper turnovers while UNK scored 20 points off of 13 Wildcat turnovers.
UNK won the battle in the paint (36-26) and fast break scoring (12-7) as the Wildcats won the bench scoring (22-18).
