GRAND JUNCTION, CO – After falling behind by 21 points at the break, the Wayne State College women’s basketball team played a strong 20 minutes in the second half.
Back at the Brownson Arena in Grand Junction, Colorado, the Wildcat women closed out the Holiday Inn-Airport Thanksgiving Women’s Basketball Classic on Saturday against the host Colorado Mesa.
Wayne State trailed at-most by 24 points early in the third quarter before picking up the 62-59 victory. WSC improved to 4-1 on the season while Colorado Mesa fell to 0-5 on Saturday.
The Wildcat win also gives WSC head coach Brent Pollari his 100th career win.
Colorado Mesa held a slight 18-14 first quarter lead before separating thanks to a 25-8 second quarter scoring surge. Colorado Mesa led 43-22 at the break. WSC then came out strong in the third quarter with a 16-7 scoring clip and answered with a 24-9 fourth quarter to win 62-59.
A trio of double figure scoring leaders came from senior Lauren Zacharias (4-12 FG/1-5 3PT/8-12 FT) with 17 points, four rebounds, five assists and six steals; senior Kassidy Pingel (6-7 FG/1-1 3PT/2-6 FT) added 15 points, three rebounds and a steal as junior Annie Guentzel (4-13 FG/0-3 3PT/1-1 FT) tallied 12 points, two rebounds, an assist and two steals.
Other scoring came from senior Logan Hughes (three rebounds/one steal) with seven points, sophomore Abby Kopecky (two rounds/one block/one steal) with five points as two points scoring came from sophomore Delaney Clark (one rebound/one assist/one steal), freshman Kylah vanDeronkersgoed (two rebounds/one assist) and freshman Rachel Dahlen (one rebound).
WSC shot 21-54 (38.9%) from the field, 3-18 (16.7%) from behind the arc and 17-29 (58.6%) from the foul line.
Colorado Mesa Leaders were Jamisyn Heaton with 14 points, two rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals as Kylie Kravig added 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Both Olivia Reed and Monica Brooks posted 14 rebounds each.
Colorado Mesa finished 23-55 (41.8%) from the floor, 4-19 (21.1%) from the three-point line and 9-15 (60%) from the charity stripe.
The Wayne State College women’s basketball team returns to NSIC play and will visit Sioux Falls on Thursday, December 1. The women’s game will be played first at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men’s game. Pregame show coverage on The City ‘KCTY’ 98.9/1590 and waynedailynews.com will be set for 5 p.m.
