St. Cloud State
11-15, 9-13NSIC
Northern State University
20-6,16-6NSIC
Offensive Struggles Lead to Huskies Loss on Senior Night
2/18/2017 5:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Cloud, Minn.- The Huskies fell 64-46 to Northern State University on Feb. 18 to close out their regular season schedule and Chelsea Nooker and Betsy MacDonald's home schedule as Huskies.
In the first quarter, the Huskies (11-15, 9-13 NSIC) defense struggled early to contain the Wolves' overpowering offense. The Huskies had issues containing the Wolves' Miranda Ristau down low, while Jessi Marti hit the Huskies hard beyond the arch. By the end of the first quarter the Huskies found themselves down 11-22.
The first half of the second quarter was a testament to both teams' defenses, as much of the first five minutes saw no points, just turnovers and steals for both teams. The Huskies turned their defensive momentum into points, as their offense from beyond the arch took off late in the second quarter. The Huskies outscored the Wolves 17-9 in the final half of the quarter to pull within six at 32-38 at halftime.
The Huskies woes were only beginning in the first half, however, as the third quarter started out very hard for the home team. The Huskies collected only five rebounds in the frame, compared to Northern State's 11. Those rebounds directly translated to points, as the Wolves outscored the Huskies 15-4 in the third frame to go up 53-36 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final segment of the game went much of the same way for the Huskies. The home team would continue to struggle grabbing rebounds even after Ristau, who had nine rebounds for the Wolves, fouled out. The Huskies would push late in the game, but would be unable to overcome their third period deficit and would fall 64-46.
Betsy MacDonald was the only Husky to break into the double digits for the night, leading the team with 15 points, nine of which came from beyond the arch. Chelsea Nooker added nine points for the Huskies and grabbed four rebounds. Brianna Johnson led the team in rebounds with five, while Andrea Thomas and MacDonald each dished out three assists to lead the team.
The Huskies held a ceremony to honor MacDonald and Nooker's accomplishments in their four years with the Huskies. Both players will go down in the St. Cloud State athletics record books after enjoying standout careers as part of the Women's Basketball program.
The Huskies will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 22 when they travel to face a to be determined team in the first round of the NSIC playoffs.
