Head Coach Chris Kielsmeier picked a good time for his 350th victory.

Wayne State shot a lights-out 51 percent from the field in an 81-59 shellacking in the semifinals of the NSIC women’s basketball conference tournament over MSU Moorhead Monday night at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Wildcats improve to 27-4 overall.

“It means you coached a lot of really good players,” Kielsmeier said of his 350th win. “I always concern myself with the losses more than I do with the wins, but I’ve won a lot of games over my career because of my players and the staff.”

The Wildcats game out with a certain mentality and confidence of what they were going to do.

“We just had a look into our eyes, you could tell at the beginning of the game that they were really ready to play,” Kielsmeier said. “Our defensive intensity was all over the place. We forced turnovers and got some shots in transition going. And we hit a lot of shots that will always loosen you up and get you going.”

Five Wildcats scored in double-figures in the victory. Jordan Spencer led Wayne State with 22 points, Ashton Yossi scored 14, Millie Niggeling recorded 13 while Paige Ballinger and Sadie Murren notched 10 apiece. Murren also recorded 10 assists for a double-double in the game.

“I knew one of these games was coming, where we were going to shoot the way we have all year from the perimeter,” Kielsmeier said. “We haven’t done that the last few games and the law of averages always catches up. If you’re a good shooting team, you’re going to shoot well at some point.

Wayne State came out hot at the beginning of the game, scoring the first 10 points of the contest behind Spencer’s 4-5 shooting with eight points and two free throws by Yossi. By the first media timeout, WSC led 12-4.

The timeout did not slow down the Wildcats, as they continued to nail shots and play shutdown defense. Wayne State extended the lead to 21, 34-13 with 5:48 left to go in the first half. At that point, Wayne State was shooting 67 percent from the floor.

After a short Moorhead run, Wayne State finished the half strong and led 45-24 at the break. WSC made 19 of 32 shots from the field for 59 percent, while making 5 of 9 three pointers for 56 percent. Both Spencer and Niggeling scored 10 in the first half, both only missing two shots apiece.

Murren hit a buzzer-beater at the end of the first half, her second in as many games.

“Sadie played great, and let’s make sure she has the ball in her hands at the end of the first half so she can nail another three,” Kielsmeier said. “She has really settled in lately, and runs the show really well. When you’re a first-year player in our offense, there will be some hard times, but she’s just fought threw them.”

Wayne State shut down MSU Moorhead in the first half, only allowing the Dragons to make 9 of 29 shots and holding them to 3 of 10 from behind the arc. Wayne State also forced MSU Moorhead into 12 turnovers in the first half while only committing 2 of their own.

MSU Moorhead was able to establish more of an offense in the second half, but it was too little, too late, as the Wildcats kept the offense rolling on the way to an 81-59 win.

Yossi struggled in the first half, but made up for it in the second with 12 points, finishing with 14.

Wayne State advances to the championship round of the NSIC conference basketball tournament to meet up with Northern State Tuesday night at 5 p.m. Both teams finished at the top of the NSIC North and South Divisions.

The Wolves of Northern State defeated Minnesota State-Mankato 58-52 earlier in the day to be the first to advance to the finals.
Wayne State defeated 58-57 on Feb. 7 in Rice Auditorium in Wayne. This time, however, it is a neutral court with a lot more on the line.

“It’s been the two best teams all year long, it’s the game that everyone wants to see,” Kielsmeier said. “I’m sure it will be a great game that will go right down to the wire. We will have to make sure we play really well and not make mistakes. We’ll be ready.”