ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Junior guard Ashton Yossi scored a game-high 21 points and Wayne State (Neb.) held off a late St. Cloud State rally as the No. 9 Wildcats posted a 75-67 Northern Sun Conference win Friday evening against the Huskies at Halenbeck Hall. WSC is now 20-2 overall and maintains first place in the NSIC with a 13-2 league mark. The 20th win marks the 10th season of 20 or more wins for Wayne State, including four of the past five seasons under head coach Chris Kielsmeier.
Wayne State built its biggest lead of the game at 60-50 with 8:04 to play. But St. Cloud State made one more push at the Wildcats and got as close as three at 65-62 following a Lexy Petermann free throw with 3:10 left.
The next possession saw Yossi sink a key 3-pointer to put the 'Cats back up six at 68-62 and WSC then held back the Huskies by making seven of eight free throws in the final minute to clinch the 75-67 win.
Wayne State had five players in double figures led by Yossi's 21 points. Ellen Hansen followed with 13 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season while junior forward Jordan Spencer also scored 13. Sophomore guard Addy Roller chipped in 12 points while Millie Niggeling added 11 off the bench.
The Wildcats made 22 of 51 shots from the field for 43.1 percent, going 7 of 19 from 3-point range. WSC shot 80 percent from the free-throw line making 24 of 30 attempts.
St. Cloud State was led by Rachael Moen, Chelsea Nooker and Lexy Petermann with 11 points apiece followed by Sam Price with 10. The Huskies connected on 23 of 57 shots for 40.4 percent including 6-for-17 beyond the arc. SCSU was 15-for-16 at the charity stripe.
The rebounding battle was won by St. Cloud State 39-30 as Jessica Benson hauled in 10 rebounds for the Huskies while Hansen's 11 rebounds paced the Wildcats on the glass. It was Hansen's eighth game this season with 10 or more rebounds.
St. Cloud State had 22 turnovers in the game to 18 on Wayne State. Roller led the Wildcats with six assists while Yossi was credited with four steals. Hansen had two of Wayne State's five blocks in the contest.
No. 2 Colorado Mesa 85, Colorado Mines 54
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Second-ranked Colorado Mesa got a combined 54 points from seniors Sharaya Selsor and Aubry Boehme to lead the Mavericks to an 85-54 win against the Colorado Mines Orediggers on Friday night in Brownson Arena.
The win extended the Mavericks home winning streak to 31 games dating back to Jan. 27, 2012 and matched the best start in school history by winning their 18th consecutive game.
Sharaya Selsor finished the game with 30 points, two rebounds, and two assists on the night. This is the fourth time this season she has gone for 30 or more points. She shot 58 percent from the field on the night and was 4 of 5 from the charity stripe.
Aubry Boehme provided the inside threat on the night, finishing with 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting from the floor. Boehme added six rebounds and two assists on the evening as well.
Selsor, Boehme and the rest of the Mavericks shot 59.3 percent (32 of 54) from the field, including 36.4 percent (8 of 22) from behind the 3-point arc. They held the Orediggers to just 33.3 percent (15 of 45) from the field, their 17th game this season in which they have held their opponent to below 45 percent from the field.
The Orediggers were led by the 11 points of Taylor Helbig.
