Wortz 40 points lifts Huskies to 74-56 victory at BSU

Saturday, January 5

Bemidji, MN

3:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Bemidji State University

Tori Wortz became the third player in program history to score 40 points in Saturday's game against the Beavers.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

1/5/2019 5:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BEMIDJI, MINN. – Someday, someone may say history had its eyes on St. Cloud State University women's basketball sophomore guard Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson). Some may say she just took a lot of shots and made a lot of baskets. Regardless, the sophomore made quite a bit of history in Bemidji, Minnesota Saturday afternoon. Yes, Wortz became just the third player in program history to score 40 points and led St. Cloud State to an impressive 74-56 victory over Bemidji State University.

The Huskies didn't waste any time scoring, as they scored on their first three offensive possessions to take an early 7-3 lead over the Beavers. However, Bemidji State took a lead of its own just a few minutes later, as the home team scored five unanswered points of its own to take its second lead of the game at 8-7. From there, the two teams traded both baskets and the lead, as neither the Huskies nor Beavers could gain more than a two point advantage. St. Cloud State did, however, get the last laugh at the end of the first quarter, as first year guard Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) hit a three in the final minutes to give her team a 21-20 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.

From there, the Huskies scoring prowess continues, as they scored an impressive 20 points in the second quarter to hold a 41-30 lead at the half. Wortz was absolutely unstoppable in the first half, as she tallied a season-high 16 points in the first half alone on 7-9 shooting, including 2-2 from three-point range. Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) added 10 points in the half on 4-5 shooting while Evans was 3-5 from the floor and 1-2 from three-point range.

Unfortunately, things did not get off to the greatest start for St. Cloud State in the third quarter. After an impressive defensive and offensive second quarter, the Huskies seemed to go cold on both sides of the ball, as Bemidji State went on a 15-5 run to cut St. Cloud State's lead to 46-43 with 2:59 remaining in the quarter. Still, the Huskies managed to hang on and score nine points in the quarter to preserve at least a slim 50-45 lead.

St. Cloud State's offense found its footing again in the fourth and final quarter, as the team scored 24 points to secure its 74-56 victory over Bemidji State. Wortz and Dammann continued to be offensive juggernauts, especially Wortz, who scored her 30^th and 40^th points in the final 10 minutes of regulation. She also helped sync the victory for the Huskies. As the Beavers were closing in and whittling the lead down to three points, Wortz hit a big time three to reignite St. Cloud State's offense, as it went on to outscore Bemidji State 24-11 in the final quarter. In fact, the sophomore scored the final two points for the Huskies, as her free throw in the final two minutes counted as her 40^th point of the night and clinched the 74-56 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) victory for St. Cloud State.

Wortz accounted for 54 percent of the Huskies offense Saturday afternoon thanks to her 40 points. However, the sophomore didn't just have a career-high day in Bemidji, Minnesota. She also recorded the third-highest scoring performance in program history, as only two other Huskies tallied 40 or more points in a single game.

Mackenzie Uter (Howard Lake, Minn. / Howard Lake-Waverly-Winstead) was the team's leading rebounder, as she recorded a career-high eight on the afternoon, while Dammann finished the game with 14 points and four rebounds.

With the win, St. Cloud State improved to 8-4 on the season and is now 5-3 in NSIC play. The Huskies will return to action on January 11 when they host Minot State University at 5:30 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall.