Three ball leads Huskies to 68-58 victory over Crookston

Friday, January 4

Crookston, MN

5:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

7-4 (4-3NSIC)

University of Minnesota Crookston

8-5 (3-4NSIC)

St. Cloud State

Minnesota Crookston

Photo by: UMC Athletic Communications

1/4/2019 7:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CROOKSTON, MINN. – It was no secret that St. Cloud State University's women's basketball team had one of the top defenses in the country. On Friday, the Huskies proved their offense can be just as potent as their stingy defense. St. Cloud State's shooting, particularly its three-point shooting, came to life in Crookston, Minnesota, as the team rebounded with an impressive 68-58 victory over the University of Minnesota-Crookston.

The Huskies jumped out to a 35-24 lead after the first half, thanks in large part to impressive offensive performances by Mallie Doucette (Colfax, Wis. / Colfax) and Madelin Dammann's (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia). The two guards scored an impressive 12 points in the opening 20 minutes of play to help their team to an early lead over one of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's (NSIC) top teams. Doucette tallied seven points in the opening quarter alone, guiding St. Cloud State to an early 15-12 lead before Dammann took over offensively in the second quarter, allowing the Huskies to take a 35-24 lead into the locker room.

St. Cloud State's dominance continued in the third quarter, as the team outscored Minnesota Crookston 20-11 to take a 57-37 lead. Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) set the tone just 20 seconds in, as she hit a three from the top of the key to extend the Huskies lead to 38-24. From there, St. Cloud State just kept scoring, primarily from three-point range, as Doucette and Kelsey Peschel (Sauk Centre, Minn. / Sauk Centre) each hit at least two threes in the quarter to extend the Huskies lead.

After jumping ahead 57-37, St. Cloud State went on to score 11 points in the final quarter of play to clinch the win. However, the Golden Eagles certainly made things interesting, as they managed to pull within 10 with three minutes remaining in regulation. The Huskies, though, managed to hold off Minnesota Crookston's last second charge en route to their 68-58 victory.

Doucette was fire offensively and defensively for St. Cloud State, as she scored a team-leading 23 points and tallied a career-high eight rebounds in the victory. Dammann added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / North) scored 12 for the Huskies.

With the win, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 7-4 and the team is now 4-3 in NSIC play. The Huskies will return to action on Saturday, when they take on Bemidji State University at 3:30 p.m. in Bemidji, Minnesota.