WAYNE STATE WOMEN WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT AFTER 75-46 ROUT OF AUGUSTANA, and 25TH-RANKED AUGUSTANA MEN RALLIES IN SECOND HALF FOR 70-54 WIN AT WAYNE STATE

Posted: 07 February, 2010

The Wayne State College women’s basketball team remained red hot defeating Augustana 75-46. Sophomore Ashley Arlen (Cascade, Iowa) earned her seventh double-double of the season with 32 points and a career high 14 rebounds. The win makes the Wildcats 17-4 overall and 10-4 in the NSIC and the loss drops the Vikings to 16-5 overall and 10-4 in the NSIC. Both teams got off to a sluggish start in the opening minutes with each team committing turnovers early. The Wildcats continued to pressure the Vikings in the half while jumping out to a 25-10 lead halfway thru the stanza. Wayne State held the Vikings to .206 percent (7 of 34) from the field in the half, while WSC shot .441 percent (15 of 34) from the field. The Wildcats forced 11 turnovers and turned those turnovers into 11 points.

Arlen had a mammoth first half with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Arlen shot both .666 percent from the field and three point line in the half to lead the Wildcats to a 43-19 lead at the break.

The Wildcats continued to pressure Augustana defensively in the second half. The Vikings committed three turnovers in the second half. The Wildcats shot .414 percent (12 of 29) from the field in the second half and shot .300 percent (3 of 10) from the three point line to run away with a 75-46 win.

Wayne state shot .429 percent (27 of 63) from the field on the night. WSC also shot .391 percent (9 of 23) from the three point line and .667 percent (12 of 18) from the free throw line. The Wildcats out rebounded Augie 46-45 on the night grabbing 39 defensive boards and seven offensive boards. WSC also had 10 steals on the night, and only had eight turnovers.

Augustana shot .261 percent (18 of 69) from the field on the night. The Vikings shot .212 percent (7 of 33) from the three point line and .500 percent (3 of 6) from the free throw line. Augie was out rebounded by the Wildcats on the night, but the Vikings managed to grab 13 offensive rebounds compared to WSC’s seven. Augustana committed 14 turnovers on the night, 11 of which came in the first half of play.

Wayne State was led by Arlen who had 32 points and a career high 14 rebounds on the night. Arlen shot .588 percent (10 of 17) from the field on the night and shot .600 percent (3 of 5) from the three point line. Speedy point guard Alisha Brown poured in a season high 14 points to go along with five assists. Brown shot .750 percent (6 of 8) from the field on the night.

Sophomore guard Clare Duwelius added 10 points and three assists to round out Wildcat players in double figures. Junior Mara Hjelle added 11 rebounds on the night to go along with five points and five steals. Junior Julie Ann Wagner added six points for WSC to go along with three rebounds.

Augustana was led by forward Alex Feeney who had nine points and three rebounds. Feeney shot .363 percent (4 of 11) from the field on the night. Guard Megan Doyle added eight point to go along with seven rebounds. Doyle shot .250 percent (2 of 8) from the three point line. Guard Faith Tinklenberg led the Vikings in rebounds grabbing nine on the night.

Wayne State will be at home again next weekend, hosting Winona State Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and Upper Iowa Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Northern Sun Conference games.

Mens's Game
25th-ranked Augustana shot a blistering 70.8 percent (17 of 24) in the second half to rally for a 70-54 Northern Sun Conference men’s basketball win at Wayne State College Saturday evening at Rice Auditorium in Wayne . The Vikings, who trailed WSC 23-20 at halftime, improved to 17-4 overall and 10-4 in the NSIC while the Wildcats slipped to 9-12 on the season and 6-8 in league play.

Saturday’s game in Wayne was similar to the first meeting this season in Sioux Falls on December 13th. In that game, WSC built a 34-32 lead at the Elmen Center with Augustana coming back strong in the second half for a 77-64 win. The Wildcats held the lead for a good share of Saturday’s first half in Wayne , leading 23-20 at the intermission.

Wayne State’s Amry Shelby opened the second half with a three pointer to put the Wildcats up 26-20, but Augustana went on an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 31-26 lead following a David Foster layup with 16:46 to play. WSC would later tie the score at 33-33 on a Brad Starken three pointer with 13:34 to go. But Augustana put together another scoring spurt, 11-2 over the next 2:52, to take a 44-35 lead and WSC never got closer than seven points the rest of the game as the Vikings pulled away for a 70-54 win.

Shelby led Wayne State in scoring with 15 points followed by Starken with 14 and Brett Spiker 13. The Wildcats shot 20 of 45 from the field for 44 percent. WSC was 5 of 9 behind the three point line and 9 of 10 from the charity stripe.

For Augustana College , David Foster poured in a game-high 25 points, making 9 of 13 shots from the field and 6 of 9 attempts behind the three point line. Cody Schilling added 14 points for the Vikings, who finished the game 26 of 47 from the field for 55.3 percent. AC was 17 of 24 in the second half. The Vikings were 8 for 18 behind the three point line and 10 of 13 at the free throw stripe.

Augustana held a slight 26-23 edge in rebounding over WSC with Schilling hauling in six boards for the Vikings while Spiker grabbed a game-high seven rebounds for Wayne State . WSC had 13 turnovers in the game to 11 for Augustana.

Wayne State will be at home again next weekend as the Wildcats host Winona State Friday night at 8:00 p.m. and Upper Iowa University Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in a pair of Northern Sun Conference matchups.