Wayne, NE – The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs traveled to face the Wayne State Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. It what was a close battle throughout, the Bulldogs won a close battle 69-65. The Bulldogs improve to 14-4 and improve their win streak to 6 games.
 
The game began with both teams making a basket on their first possession. From there, the Wildcats managed to jump out to an early 9-4 lead. The Bulldogs responded quickly however as a Brooke Olson scored on back-to-back possessions to tie the game up at 9-9. From there, the Bulldogs slowly began to take control of the game as they worked their way out to a 17-11 lead late in the quarter. After a few defensive stops by both teams, the Wildcats managed to score at the buzzer as the Bulldogs took a 17-13 first quarter lead. The Bulldogs shot 7-13 (53.8%) from the field and 1-2 (50%) from three-point range. The Wildcats shot 5-16 (31.3%) from the field and 1-2 from three-point range in the first quarter.
 
To begin the second quarter, the Wildcats quickly erased the Bulldogs lead and created one of their own. After a series of defensive stops for both teams, the Wildcats took a 21-19 lead with 5:28 remaining in the quarter. Teams continued to battle down the stretch as both teams managed to make baskets. After a Sarah Grow jump shot gave the Bulldogs an 28-26 lead with :31 seconds remaining, the Wildcats answered with a layup right before half to tie it up at halftime 28-28. Brooke Olson found her stroke in the first half as she had 16 first half points. The Bulldogs shot 12-30 (40%) from the field in the first half and 2-9 (22.2%) from three-point range. The Wildcats shot 11-28 (39.3%) from the field and 3-12 (25%) from three-point range in the half.
 
The Bulldogs started the second half on fire from the field as they quickly jumped out to an 40-33 lead with 7:31 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs continued to hold onto their lead for most of the quarter until the Wildcats managed to chip away at the Bulldogs lead late in the third quarter and managed to tie the game up at 50-50 with 1:16 remaining in the quarter. From there, teams traded baskets down the stretch as teams went into the fourth quarter tied up at 52-52. The Bulldogs shot 10-15 (66.7%) from the field and 3-5 (60%) from three-point range in the third quarter. The Wildcats shot 9-15 (60%) from the field and 3-5 (60%) from three-point range in the quarter.
 
Teams once again began the quarter by trading baskets. The Bulldogs managed to build up their lead throughout the quarter as they managed to gain a 63-56 lead with 4:20 remaining. From there, the Wildcats once again battled back and got their deficit to within three points as they Bulldogs led 65-62 with 1:42 remaining. From there, the Bulldogs defense stepped up as they managed to hold the Wildcats offense to just three points in the last 1:42 of game time. The Bulldogs went on to win the game 69-65. Maesyn Thiesen had a big second half as she scored all 14 of her points in the second half. The Bulldogs shot 6-14 (42.9%) from the field and 3-7 (42.9%) from three-point range in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats shot 3-9 (33.3%) from the field and 1-6 (16.7%) from three-point range in the fourth quarter. They also shot 6-8 from the foul line in the quarter.
 
The Bulldogs were led by Brooke Olson who had 23 points on the night. Sarah Grow and Maesyn Thiesen both added 14 points on the night as well. Olson led the team with 8 rebounds on the night while Thiesen added 7 assists to lead the team.  Overall, the Bulldogs shot 28-59 (47.5%) from the field and 8-21 (38.1%) from three-point range. They also shot 5-8 from the foul line.
 
The Wildcats were led by Kylie Hammer who had 26 points on the night. Lauren Zacharias also added 20 points on the night for the Wildcats. A trio of Wildcats added 5 rebounds on the night to lead them. Overall, the Wildcats shot 23-52 (44.2%) from the field and 7-23 (30.4%) from three-point range. They also shot 12-14 from the foul line.
 
Who's Next;
The Bulldogs will look to keep their winning streak alive as they will be back home next weekend as they will host Southwest Minnesota State on Friday January 28 at 5:30 PM. They will then host Sioux Falls on Saturday January 29^th at 3:30 PM.