FAYETTE, IA – Following a women’s only game Friday night, both Wayne State College men’s and women’s basketball teams took to the road for NSIC South Division competition.
From the Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa, WSC visited Upper Iowa University Saturday evening.
The Upper Iowa men defeated Wayne State College, 88-76 while the Wildcat women won 65-61 over Upper Iowa.
The Wildcat men fell to 7-5 (4-2 NSIC) while #24 Upper Iowa improved to 12-1 (6-1 NSIC) as the Wayne State women improved to 7-4 (4-3 NSIC) and the Peacocks fell to 2-10 (0-7 NSIC).
In the men’s game, both teams were tied at 39 all in the first half until Upper Iowa outscored WSC, 49-37 in the second half. Final favored Upper Iowa over WSC, 88-76.
Wayne State College was led in scoring by redshirt freshman Justin Eagins with 23 points (9-19 FG/4-6 3PT/1-2 FT); freshman Alec Millender poured in 19 points and three assists (8-16 FG/1-3 3PT/2-3 FT); junior Jordan Janssen added 17 points and seven rebounds (7-14 FG/3-3 FT) as freshman Cody McCullough finished with 10 points and eight rebounds (2-5 FG/6-8 FT).
Other scoring came from senior Ben Dentlinger with four points and three assists as freshman Jay Saunders tallied three points and three assists.
WSC finished 29-63 (46%) from the field, 6-13 (46.2%) from the behind the arc and 12-18 (66.7%) at the foul line.
Upper Iowa University leaders were Jareese Williams with 24 points, Joe Smoldt scored 18 points, Jake Hilmer added 16 points as Lucas Duax finished with 10 points.
The Peacocks shot 28-54 (51.9%) from the floor, 8-25 (32%) from the three-point line and 24-27 (88.9%) at the charity stripe.
Wayne State College scored 17 points off 13 Peacock turnovers while Upper Iowa answered with 11 points off 10 Wildcat turnovers. WSC won the battle in the paint (32-22) and fast break scoring (16-12) as Upper Iowa won the bench scoring (18-10). Upper Iowa out rebounded Wayne State, 34-30 (8-11 offensive) which led to 10 second chance scoring compared to 15 by WSC.
During the women’s contest, Upper Iowa jumped ahead with a 24-14 first quarter as the Peacocks added one more point thanks to a 15-14 second. Upper Iowa led 39-28 at the break and led at most by 13 points early in the third quarter. Wayne State College started to mount their comeback with a 17-8 third and 20-14 fourth to win 65-61.
Wayne State College is now 33-1 against Upper Iowa.
Wayne State College was led in scoring by junior Lauren Zacharias with a career-high 29 points and eight rebounds (11-18 FG/5-12 3PT/2-4 FT); senior Kylie Hammer added 11 points (4-7 FG/0-2 3PT/3-6 FT) as junior Logan Hughes tabbed 11 points (4-8 FG/2-4 3PT/1-1 FT).
Other scoring came from freshman Abby Kopecky with seven points, freshman Tate Norblade hit a three-pointer as junior Kassidy Pingel and freshman Maya Fitzpatrick (five assists/two steal/two blocks) had two points each.
WSC finished 24-48 (50%) from the field, 8-23 (34.8%) from the behind the arc and 9-17 (52.9%) at the foul line.
Upper Iowa University leaders were Jessica Musgrave with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Lydia Haack added 15 points as Katie Tornstrom fouled out with 15 points.
The Peacocks shot 21-61 (34.4%) from the floor, 4-17 (23.5%) from the three-point line and 15-22 (68.2%) at the charity stripe.
Wayne State College scored nine points off 13 Peacock turnovers while Upper Iowa answered with seven points off 16 Wildcat turnovers. Wayne State won the battle in the paint (30-28) and won the fast break scoring (13-5) as Upper Iowa won the bench scoring (19-10). Upper Iowa out rebounded WSC, 38-33 (15-3 offensive) which led to 13 second chance scoring compared to five by Wayne State College.
Wayne State College will be off until Sunday, January 2 when they next visit Augustana University at 3:30/5:30 p.m. Pregame show coverage on Big Red Country ‘KTCH’ 104.9 and waynedailynews.com is set for 3 p.m. with the men’s game first and women’s game second.
