WAYNE, Neb. - The Winona State University women's basketball team continues their NSIC road trip on Saturday, Feb. 5, as they travel to Wayne, Neb. to take on Wayne State College. The game against WSC is the second of two NSIC contests set for the weekend, as the Warriors fell to Augustana on Friday, 75-57.
The Warriors (11-10, 8-9 NSIC) had won their last four games prior to AU, while the Wildcats (8-11, 5-10 NSIC) beat Upper Iowa Friday night, 74-72.
Read on for more regarding Saturday's showdown set for 3:30pm in Rice Auditorium on the campus of Wayne State College.
Who: Winona State University vs Wayne State College
What: The Warriors (11-10, 8-9 NSIC) will face the Wildcats (8-11, 5-10 NSIC)
When: Saturday, February 5 with a 3:30 pm CST start.
Where: Rice Auditorium on the campus of Wayne State College
Winona State - Wayne State WBB Notables:
Heading into the Warrior weekend:
Warriors - Wildcats rematch... WSU hosted Wayne State on Dec. 17, and a second-quarter push helped the Warriors earn a 74-69 victory. Taylor Hustad recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Winona State.
Final stretch... Winona State has just five games remaining in the regular season, and this is their last full weekend on the road.
Riley's hot hand... Caitlin Riley has had the green light all season, and last weekend it helped carry the Warriors to two wins. She went 10-18 (55.6%) from deep and combined for 36 points over the two games.
Milestone Marker Ahead ... Heading into the game this afternoon, Emily Kieck needs just five steals to reach 100 in her career.
What's up with Winona State:
The Warriors are currently 11-10 overall and 8-9 in the NSIC. With Friday's setback at Augustana, WSU is now fifth in the NSIC South standings.
Prior to last night's loss, WSU had swept their opponents the last two weekends.
Taylor Hustad broke the 600 rebound plateau at Augustana University last night, and currently has 607 career boards.
The Warriors are averaging 64.2 points/game on the offensive end, and have the fifth-best defense in the NSIC allowing just 63.7 points/game to their opponents.
Winona State holds the league's best free-throw percentage, knocking down 78.4% of their shots from the charity stripe.
Taylor Hustad leads WSU with 12.4 points/game. Emily Kieck (10.7 ppg), Emma Fee (10.4 ppg), and Caitlin Riley (10.1 ppg) are all averaging double-digit scoring as well.
Hustad grabs a team-leading 7.2 boards a game, while Fee corrals 6.3 of her own each game. Both marks are top-20 in the NSIC.
Caitlin Riley went 10-18 on 3-point attempts last weekend and now averages 2.5 makes from downtown per game on the season, which is the second most in the conference.
Kieck is leading the Warriors with 66 free-throw attempts and has made 57 of them, good for the second best free-throw percentage in the NSIC at 86.4%.
Hustad is leading the NSIC in field goal percentage as she has connected on 54.7% of her shots this season.
What about the Wildcats:
The Wildcats are 8-11 overall and 5-10 in the NSIC. WSC halted a seven game losing streak with a 74-72 win over Upper Iowa.
WSC has struggled to find a groove in 2022, dropping all of their contests played in the month of January after starting the season 7-4 overall.
Wayne State averages 65.6 points/game on offense and allow 66.6 points/game to their opponents, for a scoring margin of -1.0.
The Wildcats have a strong perimeter defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 0.273 from beyond the arc.
Kylie Hammer leads the NSIC in scoring, averaging 20.6 points/game. She also leads WSC in minutes, averaging 33.4 each game.
Lauren Zacharias puts up 12.8 points/game and adds a team-leading 2.1 assists each game. She is also fourth in the NSIC making 2.1 3-pointers each game.
Kassidy Pingel lead WSC with 6.1 rebounds each game and pours in 7.8 points/game down low for the Wildcats.
Wayne State hosts Upper Iowa on Friday evening, before hosting the Warriors on Saturday afternoon.
For the most up-to-date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.
