Box Score #16 Azusa Pacific 89 Wayne State 81

            Wayne State College could not overcome a 25-10 first quarter deficit as the Wildcats lost to #16 Azusa Pacific 89-81 Saturday evening at the Division II Tip Off Classic played at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, California.  The nationally-ranked Cougars improved to 2-0 on the season while dropping the Wildcats to 1-1.
            The Wildcats made just 2 of 15 shots in the first quarter and found themselves trailing 25-10 after 10 minutes of action.
            WSC still trailed by double figures the entire second quarter, but used 12-14 free throw shooting to score offensively while making just 5 of 14 shots (35.7%) from the field as Azusa Pacific held a 43-32 lead at intermission.
            In the third quarter, WSC got as close as six points at 52-46 following an Erin Norling layup with 4:28 to play in the quarter.  But Azusa Pacific finished the quarter with a 62-50 advantage.
            Wayne State again would cut the Cougars lead to six several times in the fourth quarter, the first coming with 4:16 to play when Paige Ballinger made a pair of free throws to get WSC within six at 80-74. 
            Azusa Pacific answered every WSC rally and finished with an 89-81 win.
            Wayne State finished the game making 23 of 62 shots for 37.1 percent, including 5 of 14 from 3-point range.  The Wildcats were 30 of 34 (88.2%) at the charity stripe.
            Senior Maggie Schulte paced Wayne State in scoring with a game-high 35 points that included 18 for 20 at the free throw line.  She also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.  Ballinger also hit double digits for WSC with 17 points.
            Azusa Pacific ended the game 34 of 89 shooting for 38.2 percent, 8 of 25 behind the arc and 13 of 16 at the free throw line.
            Savanna Hanson accounted for 19 points and 15 rebounds to lead four players in double figures for the Cougars.  Gabrielle Kaiser followed with 16 while Rachel Bozlee and Samantha Huddleston added 14 and 13 respectively.
            Azusa Pacific won the rebounding battle over the Wildcats 54-41 thanks to 19 offensive rebounds, leading to a 19-5 edge in second chance points on the Wildcats.  APU also held a 32-13 advantage in bench scoring over WSC. 
            Maggie Lowe and Kacie O'Connor each had three assists for WSC while Ballinger had four of Wayne State's five blocks in the contest.
            Wayne State will conclude play at the Division II Tip Off Classic Sunday afternoon with a 12:45 p.m. contest against Wisconsin-Parkside.