Wayne State College women’s basketball took on Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State this past weekend going 1-1 at home.
The Wildcats welcomed the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth into Rice Auditorium this past Friday to open the weekend. WSC looked to shift momentum, as the Wildcats entered the game on a three-game losing streak.
WSC began the game from behind after the Wildcats trailed 21-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats shot 29.4 percent from the field after the first quarter. The Bulldogs began the game making five three-pointers, the main contributor to the eight-point advantage.
The Wildcats tried to play catch up and felt the pressure of the Bulldogs defense start to ramp up. WSC shots became forced and late in the shot clock, forcing them to only score eight points and making three field goals in the second quarter.
Minnesota Duluth remained consistent in the second quarter, shooting 7-17 from the field and knocking down another two three-pointers. Wayne State entered the half behind 37-21 and shooting only 26.6 percent from the field.
The WSC offense would pick up coming out of halftime. They shot 40 percent from the field with graduate student guard Tenleigh Smith and senior forward Rachel Dahlen, leading the way with nine of the Wildcats 15 points in the third quarter. Smith knocked down the sole three pointer made for the Wildcats in the game in the third quarter.
The Bulldog offense stayed explosive out of the break by shooting 52.9 percent from the field. They found themselves up 60-36 at the end of the third quarter.
With the large deficit, Coach Brian Ortmeier pulled the starters off the floor to give them some extra rest ahead of the matchup against Bemidji State the following evening.
Senior combo guard/forward Lily Fitzgerald saw some increased minutes and provided some help with six points and five rebounds in 25 minutes of action.
Sophomore guard Emma Frost also made herself productive in ten minutes of play with five points, one rebound, one assist, and one block. The Wildcats fourth quarter would go on to be there best quarter of play putting up 20 points. Wayne State would go on to lose to Minnesota Duluth 83-56.
In a post-game interview, sideline reporter Armando Alfarez caught up with Coach Ortmeier following the loss to see what trends coach thought lead to the loss.
“You know we have to be able to shoot the ball better beyond the three-point line,” Coach Ortmeier said. “That’s been the one thing that’s kind of hampered us all season, for us I mean we went 1-14 from three, we have to be able to make some outside shots. Something we stress a lot in practice it’s just we haven’t been able to get that to translate to gameday.”
WSC would look to shoot better just 24 hours later when they welcomed Bemidji State to Rice Auditorium.
The Wildcats began the game by scorching the nets from the field. WSC shot 9-16 from the field to help them begin with a 19-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Six first quarter points from Dahlen would help propel the Wildcats to the early lead.
The WSC defense would ramp up in the second quarter. They allowed Bemidji State to only nine points and shot 28.5 percent from the field.
A pair of three pointers from Frost and redshirt junior guard Kelsey Willems, along with some good free throw shooting, would help find the Wildcats up 16 at the break with a score of 36-20.
With the lead WSC had, they were able to maintain consistent offense and defense that would only find themselves losing the second half by five points. The Wildcats would pick up their tenth victory of the season 61-50.
“I thought we took better care of the basketball, we shot it better from the three-point line, and we were able to turn the other team over. I knew that was going to be a key in this game,” Coach Ortmeier said in a post-game interview with sideline reporter Carson Schnitzler.
Wayne State College committed 20 turnovers, shot 5-12 from three, and forced Bemidji State to 20 turnovers in the 61-50 victory this past Saturday.
The next WSC women’s basketball game is on the road this upcoming Thursday, Feb. 5 at 5:30 p.m. against Winona State. You can watch this game on the NSIC Network.
