The Wayne State College Wildcats women’s basketball team came out strong against the Chadron State Eagles, defeating them 73-64 led by a balanced attack on both offense and defense.  

Every Wildcat that saw action earned attempted at least four shots and earned at least four points. The leading scorer for the Wildcats was senior guard Tate Norblade with 14 points. With her was senior guard Carsyn Boswell and junior forward Kylah vanDonkersgoed scoring 10 points each.  

The game started slow, as far as points are concerned, with only total four points coming in the first five minutes. Eventually, the teams found their rhythm. After the first quarter, the Wildcats led the Eagles 15-9. 

Chadron State was able to battle back in the second quarter, but the Wildcats were still in control at halftime with the score being 31-24. 

Coming out of the half, Wayne State College utilized a 9-2 run over the 3:32 of the frame to take a 16-point lead, 56-40.  

In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats continued to dominate, until the Eagles started a comeback that made the Wildcats scoreless for 1:43. Junior guard Meg Rietz was able to break the mini scoring drought with a layup assisted by Maya Fitzpatrick and the Wildcats had an eight-point lead with 1:49 left. 

Eagles guard Allison Richards makes a mid-range jumper to make it 68-62 with 1:27 left, but that was as close as the comeback effort came. The Wildcats put the game away with good defense and capitalizing at the free throw line, as they take the season-opening win by a final score of 73-64.  

WSC had a field goal percentage of 40% while Chadron State had 45% throughout the game. Chadron State shot 41% from three-point range as a team with the Wildcats only shooting 35%. The difference came in the turnover department, where the Eagles turned it over on 27 occasions while WSC only turned it over 12 times.  

WSC’s next matchup is in Emporia, Kansas, where they will take on the Emporia State Hornets on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7:00 p.m.