Women’s Basketball Off To Kansas For The Parrish Hotels Thanksgiving Classic This Weekend

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The St. Cloud State women's basketball team (2-0) puts its two-game winning streak on the line and travels to Topeka, Kansas this weekend to participate in the Parrish Hotels Thanksgiving Classic from Nov. 24-25 at Lee Area on the campus on Washburn University.

Scouting Washburn University

The Icabods are coached by Ron McHenry, who is in his 18th year in charge of the program.
He has lead the team to 13 seasons with 20 or more wins including the 2003-04 NCAA National Championship.
Washburn is off to a 4-0 start and defeated Nebraska Christian and Rockhurst at home last weekend.
The program began the year with victories over a pair of NSIC teams in Minnesota State (78-65) and the University of Mary (78-67).
Washburn has three players this season that are averaging in double figures and are led by Mackenzie Loe, who is averaging 16.8 points a contest, while shooting 60 percent from the field.
Reagan Phelan has an average of 12.8 points per contest, while shooting 46.2 percent from three-point range.
She also leads the team with 11 steals.
Axelle Bernard sports an average of 10.8 points per game.
Bernard also leads the team with her 35 rebounds and is second with 12 assists.
Denesia Smith has a team-high 14 assists and also has 10 steals.
The Icabods are averaging 85 points per game, while shooting 47 percent from the field, 42 percent from the three-point range and 72 percent from the foul line.
Washburn was 17-12 last season and 10-9 in the MIAA
The team is predicted for eighth in the MIAA this season.

Scouting Newman University

The Jets are coached by Darin Spence, who is in his sixth year in charge of the program.
Newman has started the season with five wins in the first seven games.
The Jets play against Truman State on the first day of the tournament before their game against St. Cloud State on Saturday afternoon.
The program squared off and defeated Emporia State, 74-66, on Monday, Nov. 20.
The Jets lost a pair of contests over the weekend at the Fort Hays Tournament to Nebraska Kearney and Fort Hays State.
The program has four players averaging in double figures led by Hannah Alexander's 12.9 points per game average.
Bria DeGrate is putting up 11.6 points per game and is tied for the team with 10 steals.
Haley Albers leads the team with 42 rebounds (6.0 per game) and is also averaging 10.3 points per contest, while shooting 48 percent from the field.
Abby George sports an average of 10.1 points per game.
Nia Roberts is the squad leader with her 18 assists.
Dede Johnson is tied for the team with her 10 steals and leads the team with her eight blocks.
The Jets are averaging 75.9 points per game including seven three-pointers a contest.
The team is shooting 44 percent from the field and 34 percent from three-point range.
The program went 19-10 and 9-7 in the Heartland Conference this season
Newman is predicted to finish fifth in the Heartland Conference preseason poll this season.

Prior Meetings

These games will be the first time that SCSU has faced off with Washburn University and Newman University.

Listen to The Game
The game will be aired live on Granite City Sports (1390 AM) with Brendan Dzwierzynski on the call. All SCSU games can also be heard online at www.1390granitecitysports.com

Live Stats Anyone?
Washburn University is running live stats on the website for the games this Friday and Saturday.

Read This Week's Game Notes
A complete collection of interesting game notes, stats, rosters and records is available weekly in SCSU Basketball Notes Package.

Notables

St. Cloud State won their second straight victory in a 93-32 contest over Northland College on Nov. 18
The program's 93 points scored was the most scored since getting 111 against Bemidji State in a 111-107 double overtime victory last season (12/3/16).
The 61-point margin of victory was the highest for the program since getting a 93-point win over North Central during the 2005-06 season.
It was the largest margin of victory under Lori Fish and the fourth time since 1997-98 that the program has won a game by 60 or more points.
The 32 points allowed to the Lumberjills was the lowest for the program since giving up 25 to North Central during the 2005-06 season, 118-25.
Freshman Tori Wortz led the team with her 18 points.
She was one of three players, along with sophomore Kassidy Steen (16 pts.) and sophomore Madelin Dammann (11 pts.) in double figures.
Steen shot an impressive 8-for-8 from the field in getting her 16 points off the bench.
The program saw all 13 players that played against Northland score at least a basket.
St. Cloud State shot 53.6 percent from the field (37-for-69), 36 percent from three-point range (9-for-25) and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (10-for-12).
Wortz has led the team in scoring in each of the first two games with 18 points in each.
She ranks highly in the NSIC in numerous categories following the second week of action as she is fourth in scoring (18.0) and steals per game (3.0), fifth in three-point field goals per game (2.50) and field goal percentage (54.5), 11th in three-point field goal percentage (41.7) and 12th in blocks per game (1.0).
Senior Andrea Thomas is second in the league in assists (5.0) and steals (3.50) per game, fifth in steals (7) and 11th in assist to turnover ratio (2.00).
Dammann is second in three-point percentage (66.7), seventh in assists per game (3.5), ninth in assist to turnover ratio (2.33), 10th in three-pointers per game (2.00) and 12th in blocked shots (1.00).
Freshman Nikki Kilboten is eighth in steals per game (2.00) and picking up four thefts against Northland.
The Huskies also rank in the top half of the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.00 – 1st), assists (44 – 5th), assists per game (22.0 – 1st), blocked shots (10 – 8th), blocked shots per game (5.0 – 4th), defensive rebounds per game (29 -7th), fewest turnovers (28 – 4th), field goal percentage (49.1 – 2nd), field goal defense (26.7 – 3rd), offensive rebounds per game (15 – 3rd), rebounding margin (13.0 – 3rd), rebounds per game (43.0 – 4th), scoring defense (37.0 – 1st), scoring margin (43.0 – 1st), scoring offense (80.0 – 2nd), steals (32.0 – 3rd), steals per game (16.0 – 1st), three-point field goal defense (16.7 – 1st), three-point field goals made (17.0 – 8th) three-point field goals per game (8.5 – 3rd), three-point field goal percentage (38.6 – 2nd), turnover margin (11.5 – 1st), turnovers forced per game (25.5 – 1st) and turnovers per game (14.0 – 4th)
The program also enters the week as the top defensive team nationally, second in scoring margin, third in field goal percentage defense, fourth in steals per game and sixth in assists per game.

Up Next

The Huskies open league next week with a trip to take on Minnesota Crookston on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. and Bemidji State on Dec. 2 at 4 p.m.
The program is 7-27 all-time against Minnesota Crookston in a series that started in 1995.
SCSU split with the Golden Eagles last season with a 75-62 win at home (12/2/16) and a 78-76 loss on the road (1/7/17).
Betsy MacDonald led the team in the home game against UMC with 15 points.
Amanda Christianson totaled 26 points in the second game.
The team is 40-15 all-time against Bemidji State in a series that started in 1970.
The program won both games against the Beavers last season by scores of 111-107 in double overtime at home (12/3/16) and 65-59 on the road (1/6/17).
MacDonald scored 42 points in the victory over the Beavers last December.
The 42 points was the second 40-point performance in school history and just behind the all-time record of 49 points scored by Lexy Peterson against Mayville State during the 2014-15 season.
Chelsea Nooker had a double-double in the home contest against BSU with 28 points and 10 rebounds.
It was one of two double-doubles that she had last season.
Christianson led the team on the road with 18 points.
Emily Pratt had 10 rebounds in that contest.

Located in Central Minnesota along the oak-crowned west bank of the Mississippi River in the city of St. Cloud, Minn., St. Cloud State University sponsors 19 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Huskies compete at the NCAA Division I level in men's hockey (National Collegiate Hockey Conference) and women's hockey (Western Collegiate Hockey Association), while its NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the University's nordic ski team competes in the Central Collegiate Ski Association.

To learn more about the academic opportunities available at St. Cloud State University, please visit stcloudstate.edu