Huskies down Marauders for fourth straight win

Saturday, January 11

Bismarck, ND

3:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

University of Mary

Brehna Evans put up 20+ points for the second straight weekend, leading the Huskies to a "W" against the Marauders.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

1/11/2020 5:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BISMARCK, N. D. – Remember how the St. Cloud State University women's basketball team experienced a near perfect day in Friday's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) win over Minot State? Well, the Huskies experienced near perfect again in Saturday's NSIC contest against the University of Mary.

In a key game against its NSIC North foe, St. Cloud State was once again nearly perfect, as the Huskies took down the Marauders 80-65 in Bismarck, North Dakota.

If the first meeting between these two teams was any indicator, the second meeting between St. Cloud State and Mary was going to be one of the most intense of the season. The Huskies were looking to extend their win streak to four consecutive NSIC games, while the Marauders were looking to get back in the win column after a loss to Minnesota-Duluth the night before. After the first quarter, it looked like Mary was on pace for another victory, as the home team took an early 15-12 lead over St. Cloud State.

The Huskies defense, though, took over in the second quarter, as they held the Marauders to just eight points to take a 31-23 lead into the locker room at half time. Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) led a very balanced scoring attack with eight first half points, while Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / North) recorded five first half rebounds for St. Cloud State.

The Huskies avoided a third quarter scoring drought, as they scored 25 points that quarter alone to take a 56-47 lead over the Marauders with 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Mary, though, showed why it is one of the best fourth quarter teams in the conference, as the Marauders chipped away to cut the Huskies lead to 59-52 with seven minutes remaining in the quarter. Kilboten put a stop to that with a shot on the outside line, jump starting a St. Cloud State run that gave the team a 70-52 lead with 4:25 remaining in the game.

The good times just kept rolling for the Huskies, as they scored 10 points in the final four minutes to clinch their 80-65 win over the Marauders. Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) was key to St. Cloud State's success, as she had a career day on the floor, scoring a career-high 22 points on 8-10 shooting from the floor with a team-leading three assists and two steals. Three other Huskies scored in double-digits, including Wortz and Kilboten, who finished the game with 11 and 13 points respectively, while Kilboten added a team-leading six rebounds. Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) added 11 points in the win as well.

St. Cloud State's offense was outstanding Saturday night, as the team shot 31-52 from the floor for a .596 shooting percentage, including a .500 clip from three-point range. The Huskies defense was also superb, as they held the Marauders to under .500 shooting from the floor, including a sub-.400 clip during the first half.

With the win, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 10-4 and the team is now 7-3 in NSIC play. The Huskies will return to action on January 17, when they host Concordia-St. Paul at 5:30 p.m. in St. Cloud, Minnesota.