Huskies and Mavericks Square off in First Round of NSIC Tournament

Wednesday, February 27

St. Cloud, Minn.

5:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Minnesota State University - Mankato

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

Huskies and Mavericks Square off in First Round of NSIC Tournament

2/27/2019 12:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The St. Cloud State women's basketball team (17-9, 14-8 NSIC) begins their post season run at 5:30 PM on February 27, 2019 against Minnesota State Mankato in the first round of the NSIC Tournament. SCSU enters the tournament as the four seed in the north side of the conference and will host the five-seeded Mavericks of the NSIC south at Halenbeck Hall.

2019 NSIC Tournament Bracket

Wed., Feb. 27 - First Round			Time
(S8) Upper Iowa	at	(N1) MSU Moorhead	5:30 pm
(N5) Minot State	at	(S4) Winona State	6:00 pm
(N7) Minnesota Crookston	at	(S2) Sioux Falls	5:30 pm
(S6) Wayne State	at	(N3) U Mary	6:00 pm
(N8) Bemidji State	at	(S1) Concordia-St. Paul	6:00 pm
(S5) Minnesota State	at	(N4) St. Cloud State	5:30 pm
(S7) Southwest Minnesota State	at	(N2) Minnesota Duluth	5:30 pm
(N6) Northern State	at	(S3) Augustana	5:30 pm

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St. Cloud State and Mankato have met once already this season, falling 62-78 on the road in mid-January. Nikki Kilboten's 18 point, eight rebound effort was not enough while Mankato was led by Monica Muth's 19 point performance.

The Huskies are looking to record their first post season win since the 2014-15 season when SCSU defeated Sioux Falls in the first round of the NSIC Tournament. Since entering the NSIC in 2009, the Huskies are 5-7 in tournament play. Of note, the Huskies' longest playoff run since entering the NSIC was in the 2009-10 season when SCSU won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Central Region Tournament.

Last season, St. Cloud State entered the NSIC tournament as the three seed and fell to the six-seeded Concordia St. Paul Golden Bears in the first round, 82-63.

Entering the post season, Mallie Doucette is the Huskies' leading scorer with 12.6 points per game while sophomore Tori Wortz is also posting over 12 per game. Madelin Dammann is shooting over 42 percent from three-point land in over 100 attempts during the regular season.

As a team, St. Cloud State is the third-ranked defense in the conference, holding opponents to under 60 points per game while Minnesota State ranks 11th. The Mavericks are allowing over 69 points per game. However, MSU is averaging the second most points per game in the NSIC with 74.4. The Huskies rank ninth with 66.9 PPG.
Both MSU and SCSU are shooting over 40 percent from the field while the Huskies will be looking to capitalize on MSU's 11th ranked three-point defense. SCSU is shooting over 33 percent from beyond the arc, the fifth highest in the NSIC.

Nikki Kilboten leads the NSIC in total blocked shots with 63 and blocks per game with 2.3. Mackenzie Uter has posted the 15th most assists in the conference with 71, while Mallie Doucette and Tori Wortz are each in the top 25 for points per game.

Taylor Drost and Monica Muth are the Mavericks' primary scoring threats, averaging 13.6 and 10.4 points per game respectively. Brooke Tonsfeldt leads the team in total rebounds with 181 for an average of seven per game.