Box Score WAYNE, Neb. – Despite connecting on nine second-half three pointers, Minnesota State’s women’s basketball season came to an end Friday night as the Mavericks were knocked out of the central region tournament by top-seeded Wayne State, 78-74.
 
Senior forward Laura Weber came out strong for Minnesota State connecting on her first three field goals giving the Mavericks an early 6-0 lead.  The lead would last until the 12:30 mark in the first half as Ashton Yossi connected on a three pointer for Wayne State giving the Wildcats their first lead at 13-12.
 
The teams would play to a tie at 20 with 7:30 remaining before the Wildcats would end the half on a 17-11 run giving them a 37-31 advantage at the break. 
 
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Year, Ashley Arlen, led the way for Wayne State in the first half scoring 15 points on 5-of-9 from the field.  Minnesota State was paced by Weber who scored 13 points including 10 of the team’s first 12 points.
 
Minnesota State would cut the lead to two early in the second half as senior Jennie Noreen connected on a three pointer but it wasn’t long before the Wildcats would respond back.
 
Wayne State was able to capture the momentum with a quick 7-1 run, taking a 46-38 lead, after a three pointer by Ali Schwartzwald forced MSU to call its first timeout of the half.
 
The Wildcats would extend their lead to 16 after a three pointer by Ellen Hansen before MSU would connect on a couple of three pointers of its own courtesy of Noreen and freshman guard Aubrey Davis.
 
Davis would catch fire making three triples in a row which sparked a Maverick run and cut the lead to six at 66-60.
 
Minnesota State stayed hot from behind the arc as Noreen drained another shot from downtown cutting the Wildcats lead to just one at 70-69 with 4:15 remaining.
 
The sharp-shooting continued for MSU as sophomore guard Alli Hoefer gave MSU its first lead of the half at 74-72 as she connected on a three pointer from a kick-out pass from a driving Noreen.
 
With just 25 seconds remaining, Arlen would give Wayne State the lead back at 75-74 with a lay-in off the glass.
 
MSU would go to Noreen with under 10 seconds remaining but her jumper didn’t fall as the Mavericks were forced to foul Schwartzwald sending her to the free-throw line.  Schwartzwald would proceed to go 1-of-2 from the line giving the Wildcats a 76-74 lead with 7.3 seconds remaining.
 
With the Wildcats trying to foul MSU to force the Mavericks to attempt to score with less time to work with, Minnesota State turned the ball over and was once again forced to foul Schwartzwald after the ball was inbounded.
 
Schwartzwald iced the game for WSC going 2-of-2 from the line as a last-second three pointer by MSU fell short ensuring the 78-74 Wildcat victory.
 
The Mavericks finished the night shooting 45.9 percent from the field including an 11-of-21 (52.4 3FG%) performance from behind the arc.  Davis made good on 5-of-9 three pointers, totaling 17 points on the night, while Noreen hit 4-of-6 from downtown finishing with 16 points.  Davis and Hoefer each tallied a game-high seven assists as the Mavericks assisted on 21 of their 28 field goals throughout the game.
 
Weber led the way offensively for MSU with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting while also hauling in seven rebounds.  Freshman forward Jamie Bresnahan earned her third double-double of the season with a 12-point, 11-rebound performance.
 
Wayne State was led by Arlen who finished with a game-high 25 points including a 10-of-10 performance from the free-throw line as the Wildcats advanced to play the winner of Augustana and CSU-Pueblo tomorrow in the second round of the central region tournament.
 
The Wildcats made the most of their free-throw opportunities connecting on 23-of-26 (88.5 FT%) from the line compared to MSU which finished 7-of-12 (58.3 FT%) from the charity stripe.  WSC committed one more turnover (17-16) while outrebounding the Mavericks, 36-32.
 
The loss knocks MSU out of the central region tournament and leaves the Mavericks with an 18-11 overall record for the 2011-12 season.