WBB | Huskies’ Season Ends in First Round of NSIC Tournament

Wednesday, February 21

St. Cloud, Minn.

6 p.m.

St. Cloud State

17-10

Concordia University, St. Paul

12-17

Concordia-St. Paul

St. Cloud State

Photo by: Maddie MacFarlane

WBB | Huskies’ Season Ends in First Round of NSIC Tournament

2/21/2018 9:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

#3 St. Cloud State was upset by the #6 seeded Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears, 82-63 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament at Halenbeck Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

By: Zach Siggelkow

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The St. Cloud State women's basketball team (17-10, 14-8 NSIC) entered the NSIC Tournament as the #3 seed from the NSIC North and a favorite to advance to this weekend's quarterfinal round in Sioux Falls, SD. The favored Huskies ended their season in an 82-63 upset loss from the #6 seeded Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (12-17, 8-14 NSIC) of the NSIC South.

In Wednesday night's contest, the Huskies did not control a lead past the nine-minute mark of the first period. St. Cloud State was able to out-score the Golden Bears, 19-14 in the second quarter after trailing by seven in the first quarter.
With just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Huskies went on a 7-0 run to bring their deficit within two going into the half. Andrea Thomas and Brianna Johnson led the Huskies with nine points a-piece while Amanda Christianson totaled six points and four rebounds in the half.

St. Cloud State only trailed by five entering the fourth quarter, where the Huskies were out-scored 28-14. In a game where SCSU was called for nine more personal fouls than Concordia-St. Paul, calls down the stretch landed in favor of the Golden Bears and ultimately led to a momentum swing that would increase a five-point deficit into a 19-point gap in a matter of eight minutes.
The Huskies' leading scorer of the night, Andrea Thomas fouled-out for just the second time this season with 7:06 remaining in regulation. Thomas' storied career as a Husky came to a close after recording 17-points, three rebounds and two assists on Wednesday night. Fellow senior, Amanda Christianson also capped a historical career in the loss after recording eight points, nine rebounds and three assists. Christianson's nine rebounds were a game-high. Freshman, Tori Wortz totaled ten points, four rebounds and three steals in the contest.

Andrea Thomas finished as 11^th all-time in 3-point field goals made (108) and 19^th all-time in assists (267) for St. Cloud State. Thomas started in 63 of the 105 games she played in over her four years, and recorded 926 total points. Thomas also recorded 126 steals and 267 assists in her career.
Amanda Christianson will go down as one of the Huskies' greatest shooters of all-time by ranking fifth all-time in three-point field goal percentage (41.0 percent) and 12^th all-time in three-pointers made (101) for the Huskies.

As a team, St. Cloud State shot 34.4 percent (22-64) from the field, 40.9 percent (9-22) from beyond-the-arc, and 66.7 percent (10-15) from the free-throw line. The Huskies recorded 14 assists, 11 steals and one block in the season-finale. SCSU out-rebounded the Golden Bears 35-33 and scored 15 points by capitalizing on CSP's 18 turnovers.

Concordia-St. Paul was led by Anna Schmitt's 28 point, nine assist and six rebound performance. Hanna Vidlund contributed 19 points and three rebounds while Hadyn Becker also scored 14 points.
The Golden Bears will advance to the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, SD to face off against the Wayne State College Wildcats on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2:30 PM.