St. Cloud State rolls to semis with 85-57 win over Bemidji State

Saturday, March 2

Sioux Falls, SD

5:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

19-9

Bemidji State University

6-22

Bemidji State

St. Cloud State

Katrina Theis was one of four Huskies to score in double-digits Saturday evening.

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

St. Cloud State rolls to semis with 85-57 win over Bemidji State

3/2/2019 7:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Everyone loves a good Cinderella story, especially the St. Cloud State University women's basketball team. After defeating Minnesota State on Wednesday to advance to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) / Sandford Health Tournament quarterfinals, the Huskies had a chance to keep their own Cinderella story alive by ending the very fairy tale-esc run by the Bemidji State University Beavers. As in the stories, St. Cloud State has the chance to have its story live on to another day, as the team took down Bemidji State 85-57 to advance to the semifinal round of the conference tournament for the first time since 2008-09.

"It feels awesome to beat Bemidji State three times and move on," junior guard Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) said in a postgame interview. "We know it's hard to beat a team three times in a year, but to do it tonight and advance to the semifinals is pretty amazing."

Dammann was one of four Huskies to score in double-digits Saturday evening, as a well-balanced attack for St. Cloud State led to the dominant victory. In the first quarter alone, the Huskies jumped ahead to a quick 9-1 lead on perfect shooting from Dammann and fellow guard Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) and were able to close the quarter with a 20-12 lead over the Beavers.

The eight point deficit was the closest Bemidji State would come to ever catching St. Cloud State, as the home team went into the locker room with a 41-24 lead at the half. However, the Huskies knew how dangerous this Beaver team could be, as they trailed the top-seeded team from the South Division, Concordia-St. Paul, by double-digits in Wednesday's opening round game before charging ahead to the biggest upset of the evening.

St. Cloud State was not about to let history repeat itself, as the team continued to pound on the points against Bemidji State. The Huskies again scored 21 points in the third quarter to jump ahead 62-39 before exploding for a game-high 23 team points in the fourth and final quarter to win the game 85-57.

St. Cloud State's offense was nothing but explosive the entire game, as the team shot above .500 in every quarter, including an impressive .625 (10-16) clip in the fourth quarter. On the flip side, the Huskies defense continued to dominate, as they held the Beavers to just 42 shots the entire game, including just 15 from beyond the arc, and under .500 shooting.

Dammann led the offense attack for St. Cloud State, as she led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game with 15 points. Wotrz was right behind her with 14, while Katrina Theis (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) and Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / North) tallied 13 and 10 points respectively. Kilboten was the team's leading rebounder with six.

With the win, the Huskies advance to the semifinal round of the conference tournament for the first time since 2008-09 and improve their overall record to 19-9. St. Cloud State will play the winner of Minnesota-Duluth and Augustana at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, March 4.