#19 Wayne State 87 Harding (Ark.) 80Wayne State vs. Harding Game Highlights Wayne State vs. Harding Post-Game Press Conference #19 Wayne State rallied in the second half with 62 percent shooting while senior forward
Jordan Spencer led five Wildcat players in double figures with a game-high 21 points as the Wildcats outgunned Harding (Ark.) 87-80 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Central Region Women's Basketball Tournament played at Gross Coliseum in Hays, Kansas. WSC moves to 28-5 with the win and will face top-seeded Fort Hays State (29-3) in Saturday's semi-finals at 7:30 p.m. while Harding ends the season at 23-7.
The Wildcats made just two of their first eight shots to start the game, but then connected on three straight 3-pointers to take their first lead of the contest as
Alex Nelson drained the first long ball for an 11-8 Wildcat lead followed by back-to-back
Ashton Yossi treys to put WSC in front 17-12 with 12:35 to go in the first half.
But WSC went cold from the field while Harding drained five consecutive 3-pointers to regain the lead.
After Yossi's 3 pointer at the 12:35 mark, WSC missed seven straight shots and went 5:43 without a basket until
Sadie Murren connected on a 3-pointer to put the 'Cats ahead at 27-26 after the Lady Bison built a 26-22 lead.
Harding scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 34-29 lead with 5:00 to play before halftime. The 'Cats got as close as one on a Murren layin with 3:34 left in the half at 36-35 before Harding closed the half with a 46-41 lead.
The Lady Bison shot 16 of 29 (55.2%) in the first half while the Wildcats shot just 33 percent on 11 of 33.
Wayne State shot the ball much better in the second half, but Harding matched the Wildcats with key shots and never let WSC take the lead with under seven minutes to play in the game.
Trailing 67-61, the Wildcats used three straight
Jordan Spencer baskets and took their first lead of the second half at 69-67 on a
Maggie Schulte jumper with 6:43 to play.
After Harding scored the next two baskets to regain the lead at 72-69, WSC used two Yossi free throws and a Schulte trey to take the lead for good at 74-72.
Tied at 74 with 4:35 to play, Yossi and Murren hit back-to-back 3's to give the 'Cats an 80-74 lead at the 3:25 mark. Harding battled back one more time and knotted the score at 80 on a Montana Lewis three-point play with 1:52 to play.
But WSC used a Murren trey from the left corner to take a 83-80 lead and following a Harding miss with the shot clock running down
Millie Niggeling drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to put the Wildcats ahead 86-80 with 26 seconds to play. A
Maggie Schulte free throw with seven seconds to play closed the scoring in Wayne State's 87-80 win.
All five Wildcat starters reached double figures led by Spencer's game-high 21 points on 9 of 17 shooting. Freshman
Maggie Schulte and senior guard
Ashton Yossi each added 15 points followed by junior guard
Sadie Murren with 14 points and senior forward
Millie Niggeling 10.
The Wildcats shot 18 of 29 in the second half (62%) and finished the game making 29 of 62 shots for 46.8 percent. WSC was 12 for 23 from the 3-point line (52%) and 17 of 20 at the charity stripe (85%).
Harding also had five players in double figures with Montana Lewis pouring in a team-high 18 points. Correy Moyer scored 14 followed by Arielle Saunders with 13 and Tabitha Haney and A'ndrea Haney with 11 apiece.
The Lady Bison shot a sizzling 29 of 55 in the game for 52.7 percent, connecting on 9 of 14 from behind the arc (64.3%) and 13 for 16 at the foul line.
Harding held a slim 33-31 advantage in rebounding over Wayne State as Saunders hauled in a game-high eight rebounds for the Bison while Spencer grabbed six boards for the Wildcats followed by Schulte with five.
Yossi and Niggeling each had five assists for the Wildcats with Murren at four while Spencer had a team-high three steals.
WSC had 19 assists and just 10 turnovers in the game while Harding had 20 assists and 16 turnovers.
