St. Cloud State Uses Clutch Free Throw Shooting to Knock Off #7 Sioux Falls in Double Overtime Thriller

Saturday, December 14

Sioux Falls, SD

3:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

6-3,3-2NSIC

University of Sioux Falls (S.D.)

9-2,3-2NSIC

OT 1

OT 2

St. Cloud St.

Sioux Falls

Tori Wortz driving to the basket

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

St. Cloud State Uses Clutch Free Throw Shooting to Knock Off #7 Sioux Falls in Double Overtime Thriller

12/14/2019 6:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The St. Cloud State University women's basketball team used their best performance of the season at the free throw line to knock off #7 University of Sioux Falls 80-76 in double overtime. The Huskies complete the weekend sweep to extend their win streak to three games and improve to 6-3 (3-2 NSIC) on the season. USF falls to 9-2 (3-2 NSIC) after today's loss.

The Huskies continue to dominate on offense. As a team, St. Cloud State shot 28-of-69 for 40.6 percent from the field. The Huskies shot 5-of-20 from downtown for 25 percent. The deciding factor int tonight's game was free throws. SCSU dialed in to shot 19-of-22 for 86.4 percent. St. Cloud State also outrebounded Sioux Falls 51-39,

Tori Wortz (Jr., G, Hutchinson, Minn.) led all scorers with 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Wortz was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line and grabbed eight rebounds on the night. Madelin Dammann (Sr., G, Waconia, Minn.) scored 16 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Dammann knocked down 4-of-5 free throws and added eight rebounds as well.

Katrina Theis (So., F, Maple Grove, Minn.) also scored 16 points and knocked down really important shots before fouling out. Theis was 4-of-8 from the field and 8-of-8 at the free throw line, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked two shots. For the second game in a row, Nikki Kilboten (Jr., F, Eau Claire, Wis.) joined the double-double club with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Kilboten was 6-of-12 from the field and added two steals.

Sioux Falls shot 24-of-70 from the field as a team for 34.3 percent. The Cougars saw a little more success from deep as they shot 10-of-27 for 37 percent. At the charity stripe, USF shot 18-of-22 for 81.8 percent.

Offensively, the Cougars were led by Kaley Hummel with 21 points on 7-of-19 shooting. Hummel also shot 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and was perfect at the free throw line. Anna Goodhope added 13 points and shot 3-of-6 from deep as well. Goodhope also had six total rebounds and three blocks. Mariah Szymanski scored 12 points and added three assists.

Wortz quickly got the Huskies on the board with a layup. St. Cloud State jumped out to a 12-8 lead on a Theis layup. Damman hit a three-pointer to extend the Huskies lead to 15-10. SCSU took a 19-17 lead going into the second quarter.

Sioux Falls jumped out to a quick 21-19 lead after knocking down a few free throws and hitting a layup. Peterson knocked down back to back three pointers to extend their lead to 25-21 with 7:06 left in the second quarter. Dammann then scored three points on an old fashioned three-point play 28-21. The Huskies went on a 7-0 run. St. Cloud State took a 36-29 into halftime.

Kilboten put the Huskies on the board early in the third quarter. A few plays later Wortz got to the charity stripe and drained both free throws to make the score 40-31. Wortz continued her lights out performance as she knocked down a three-pointer to extend the SCSU lead to 43-31. Sioux Falls cut into their deficit by going on a 7-0 run to make the score 43-38 SCSU. After the Cougars caught up, the two teams went back and forth. Sioux Falls and St. Cloud State went into the fourth quarter tied at 48.

USF jumped out to an early 53-48 lead in the fourth quarter. After three minutes of not being able to get anything going on offense, Theis put the Huskies on the board with two free throws. Dammann drained a wide open three-pointer to bring the huskies within two points of the Cougars.

With just under five minutes left in the game, Brehna Evans (So., G, De Pere, Wis.) tied the game at 55 with a strong finish under the basket. Theis grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up to give SCSU a 57-55 lead. After another lead change, Evans put the Huskies back up on a strong layup with contact. With just a minute left, both teams were tied at 60. With 16 seconds left, Theis knocked down a big layup to give the Huskies a 62-60 lead. Sioux Falls answered back with a layup of their own to tie the game at 62 with 11 seconds left. The Huskies missed the final shot which took the game to overtime.

After being fouled, Theis remained perfect at the line and gave the Huskies a 64-62 lead. Theis was fouled again a few plays later and knocked down both free throws to extend the lead to 66-62. Kilboten grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to give St. Cloud State a 68-63 lead. Sioux Falls made two three-pointers to tie the game at 68 with 34 seconds left. After a few missed shots, the game went into a second overtime.

Caitlyn Peterson (Jr., G, Lakeville, Minn.) socred the first points of the second overtime to make the score 70-68. Wortz came down the very next play and hit a shot to give St. Cloud State a four-point lead. A Kilboten bucket gave SCSU a four-point lead but USF answered back with a three-pointer to bring them within one. Wortz went to the line and knocked down both free throws to give the Huskies a 76-73 lead. Sioux Falls knocked down a crucial shot to make the score 76-75. With 15 seconds left, Dammann went to the line and knocked down both to give the Huskies a three-point lead. After the USF missed a big shot, SCSU grabbed the rebound and drained two more free throws to beat #7 Sioux Falls 80-76 in double overtime.

The Huskies will be back in action Sat., December 21 in Halenbeck Hall as they face-off with Minnesota Duluth. The Huskies will come into that matchup with a three-game win streak.