WAYNE, Neb. – The Southwest Minnesota State women’s basketball team saw its five-game win streak snapped on Saturday afternoon, falling 72-62 to the Wayne State Wildcats inside Rice Auditorium.

Neither team would shoot the ball particularly well, with SMSU shooting 37.7% from the field and 22.7% from three and WSC shooting 40.9% from the field and 28.6% from deep.

Wayne State held substantial advantages in bench points (49-20), points in the paint (38-26), and points off turnovers (30-19), helping earn the victory.

Hannah Parsley led Mustang scorers with 15 points, while Peyton Blandin (12), and Bri Stoltzman (11) each added double figures. Parsley added four steals, Blandin finished with seven rebounds, and Stoltzman added six rebounds and three assists.

After trailing 4-0 to open the game, SMSU went on a 13-2 run on 5 of 7 shooting to lead 13-6 with 5:23 to go in the first quarter. Wayne State countered with a 13-2 run of their own, giving them a 19-15 lead through a quarter of play.

The Wildcats rolled through the second quarter, forcing 10 Mustang turnovers and holding them to just seven shots, outscoring SMSU 24-11 to take a 43-26 lead at the half.

WSC would lead by 18 with 4:26 left in the game at 69-51. The Mustangs scrapped back, closing the deficit to single digits at 69-60 with 1:31 to go, but it would not be enough to complete the comeback.

The Mustangs (5-3, NSIC 2-1) return to the court on Friday, Dec. 9, at 5:30 p.m., against Winona State in Winona.

WSC 83, SMSU (M) 62

WAYNE, Neb. – The Southwest Minnesota State men’s basketball team closed its weekend with an 83-62 loss on the road against Wayne State on Saturday afternoon inside Rice Auditorium.

The Mustangs shot 49.1% from the field, but shot just 33.3% beyond the arc, while Wayne State shot 56.1% from the field and a staggering 52.2% from deep.

WSC held advantages in steals (13-5), fastbreak points (16-4), points off turnovers (26-8), and assists (19-10) in the wire-to-wire victory.

The Mustangs had three in double figures, with Cliff McCray scoring a team-high 13 points. Dunwa Omot tallied 12 points and a pair of assists, and Jakob Braaten scored a career-high 11 points with two steals. Jake Phipps grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds and added nine points. Mason Lund scored eight points of his own, while Majok Majouk picked up five points, three rebounds, two steals and a block.

The Wildcats opened the game by scoring 17 of the first 25 points to lead 17-8 with 12:49 left in the first half. Over the next five-and-a-half minutes, SMSU outscored WSC 12-9 to cut its deficit to 26-20.

Wayne State closed the final 7:29 shooting 7-10 from the field and 4-5 from deep, growing its lead to 44-30 at the half.

The first 7 points of the second half went the way of the Wildcats, giving them a 21-point cushion at 51-30 with 16:28 to go in the game.

The teams teetered for three minutes, with SMSU outscoring WSC 9-8 to cut the Wayne lead to 20 with 13:33 left in the game.

A 9-0 Mustang run followed, bringing SMSU within 11 at 59-48. SMSU continued inching closer, getting as close as nine at 62-53 with 8:01 to go, but the Wildcats closed the game on a 21-8 run to bring the game to its final score.

The Mustangs (4-3, NSIC 1-2) return to the court on Friday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m., against Winona State in Winona, Minn.