The William Jewell women's basketball team fell to 1-4 on the season after dropping an 80-49 contest to No. 24 Wayne State College (Neb.) Saturday afternoon in Wayne, Neb.

Wayne State got off to a hot start as they built a 26-10 lead over the Cardinals by the end of the first period.

WSC continued their strong play into the start of the second quarter before a Hayden Butler three ended a 20-8 run by the Wildcats and got Jewell within 28-13. The lead would grow as large as 20 (40-20) during the second period but a three-point shot from Chris Keys with 36 seconds remaining in the half pulled the Cardinals within 44-27 at the break. Despite the large deficit Jewell was outscored by just one as they scored 17 points in the second frame while allowing the Wildcats just 18.

In the opening half the Cardinals shot 28 percent from the floor while Wayne State hit 47 percent. However, Jewell did manage to hit 31 percent of their shots from behind the three-point line (4-13).

The offensive struggles continued in the second half as the Cardinals were outscored 24-9 in the third period as Wayne State opened the half with a 14-2 run to open up their largest lead thus far of 29 points

The Wildcats began to cool off late in the game as Jewell managed to outscore their opponent 13-12 in the final period, however, the inital deficit was too much to overcome as Wayne State built their largest lead of the game at the final margin of 80-49.

On the night the Cardinals shot just 24 percent from the floor. After hitting 31 percent from the behind the arc in the first half Jewell knocked down just 2 of 16 in the second half for 20 percent on the night. Despite the shooting woes, Jewell did connect on 81 percent of their shots from the free throw line (13-16) compared to the Wildcats 64 percent.

Keys, a junior, shined in the loss, posting 18 points, three rebounds and three steals. Another junior, Maddie Nelson, also chipped in nine points, seven boards, three assists, and two steals.

Up next for the Cardinals is a trip to Warrensburg, Mo. for a match up with the Jennies of Central Missouri on Wednesday, November 18 at 5:30 p.m. The team will then return home for the first time this season as they host Upper Iowa on Sunday, November 22.