#10 Wayne State Women Dominate MSU Moorhead 71-48 In Battle of NSIC Unbeatens

Wayne, Neb.---  Junior forward Ashley Arlen poured in a game-high 24 points on 8 of 12 shooting to pace Wayne State College in a 75-54 Northern Sun Conference women’s basketball win at MSU Moorhead in Moorhead, Minnesota Friday evening in a matchup of the final two unbeaten teams in league play.  The 10th-ranked Wildcats never trailed in the game improving to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the NSIC while MSU Moorhead drops to 6-2 on the season and 3-1 in league play.
          
WSC got off to a quick start and built an 18-7 lead with 13:04 to play in the first half following a three point play from Alyssa Fischbach.  After MSU Moorhead scored the next six points to pull within five at 18-13, the Wildcats responded with a 12-2 run, capped by an Ashley Arlen three pointer with 8:18 left in the half, pushing the WSC advantage back to double digits at 28-15.  The Wildcats ended the first half with a 41-26 lead at halftime.
          
The Wildcats maintained their double figure lead until the Dragons trimmed the WSC lead to eight points at 48-40 on a Jenna Van Dyke three point play with 14:28 to go in the game.  But that’s as close as the Dragons would get as the Wildcats used a trio of three point shots, one by Arlen and back-to-back treys from Renee Wood, to shut the door on MSU Moorhead and the Wildcats built a 21 point lead at 67-46 and went on to the 75-54 win over MSU Moorhead to snap the Dragons’ six game win streak.
          
Arlen finished the night with her game-high 24 points, making 8 of 12 shots from the field, including 3 for 4 behind the three point line, to go with a 5 for 5 night at the charity stripe.  Senior center Mara Hjelle also reached double figures for the Wildcats with 15 points.  WSC made 26 of 54 shots from the field for 48 percent, shooting a season-high 50 percent behind the three point line making 8 of 16.  The ‘Cats were also respectable from the foul line, making 15 of 18 for 83 percent.
          
Angie Jetvig, the NSIC’s leading scorer at 21.3 points per game, led MSU Moorhead with 22 points, the lone Dragon in double digits.  MSU Moorhead shot just 35 percent from the field, making 22 of 62 shots from the field.  WSC held the Dragons to just 1 of 18 (5.6%) from the three point line while MSU Moorhead was 9 of 11 from the charity stripe.
          
MSU Moorhead, the top rebounding team in the NSIC, out-rebounded Wayne State 35-29.  The top rebounder in the game was Wayne State’s Alyssa Fischbach with 10 points while Betsy Dickson hauled in six boards for the Dragons.  WSC had just 11 turnovers while MSU Moorhead finished with 15.
          
Wayne State will visit Minnesota, Crookston Saturday afternoon in a Northern Sun Conference contest starting at 4:00 p.m.