Box Score Nebraska-Kearney 59 Wayne State 52

            Wayne State College shot just 33 percent from the field (21 of 62) as Nebraska-Kearney downed the Wildcats 59-52 Saturday afternoon in non-conference women's college basketball played in Kearney at the UNK Health and Sports Center.  The Lopers are now 1-0 on the year while WSC drops to 2-2.
            The 'Cats trailed 11-6 in the first quarter before closing the deficit to 15-14 after one quarter.
            WSC used a Paige Ballinger free throw, Andrea Larson layup and Evelyn Knox 3-pointer to take a 20-15 lead at the 7:21 mark of the second quarter.  The 'Cats took their biggest lead of the game at 26-19 on a Ballinger layup with 4:01 to play in the half before finishing with a 28-26 lead at intermission.
            UNK took advantage of cold WSC shooting in the third quarter (3-14 for 21%) to take the lead for good, outscoring WSC in the third quarter 16-8 to take a 42-36 lead after three quarters.
            The Lopers pushed the lead to double digits at 50-38 with 6:10 to play before WSC made one last run.
            Down 54-43, WSC scored six straight points to get within 54-49 on a three-point play by Ballinger and got as close as three at 55-52 on a Maggie Schulte trey with 1:01 remaining.  But UNK clinched the win with an Alyssa Frauendorfer layup and two McKenzie Brown free throws to seal the 59-52 win.
            Ballinger led WSC in scoring with 17 points followed by Kacie O'Connor with 11 and Andrea Larson 10.
            The 'Cats made just 21 of 62 shots for 33.9 percent, going 5 of 20 behind the arc and just 5 for 7 at the free throw line.
            UNK was led in scoring by Alyssa Frauendorfer and Kennedy Sander with 17 points each while McKenzie Brown chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
            The Lopers were 25 of 58 from the field for 43.1 percent, including 1 of 9 from the 3-point line.  UNK was 8 of 10 at the free throw line.
            UNK won the rebounding battle over the Wildcats 44-30.  Ballinger led WSC on the glass with eight boards.  The Lopers held a 36-26 edge on points in the paint while WSC had a 14-9 advantage on points off turnovers.  WSC had just 10 turnovers in the game compared to 15 by the Lopers.
            Ballinger had five blocked shots while O'Connor was credited with four assists. 
            The Wildcats play at UC-Colorado Springs Monday at 5 p.m. Central Time.