Women's basketball grinds out 84-77 win over Minnesota State

Saturday, January 18

St. Cloud, Minn.

3:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

12-4,9-3NSIC

Minnesota State University - Mankato

9-7,6-6NSIC

Minnesota St.

St. Cloud St.

Brehna Evans drives to the basket in the third quarter Saturday afternoon.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

Women's basketball grinds out 84-77 win over Minnesota State

1/18/2020 6:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – There are certain things that make the grind just a little bit sweeter. Wins, particularly Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NSIC) ones, for the St. Cloud State women's basketball team are ones of those things.

The Huskies grinded out their most grueling win to date this season, gutting out an impressive 84-77 victory over Minnesota State Saturday evening in Halenbeck Hall. The win marks St. Cloud State's sixth straight since the start of 2020, tying the team's longest win streak since the 2014-15 season.

It was clear from the start it was going to be a grueling, physical game between the Huskies and Mavericks, as both teams found their top players in trouble early and often in the first half. St. Cloud State, in particular, was forced to play a good chunk of the half without its top players, but the team was able to overcome the adversity and an early 4-0 deficit, as it held a 42-38 lead entering the locker room at half. Sophomore guard Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) played a huge role in the Huskies offensive and defensive game in the opening quarters, as she led the way with 17 first half points for St. Cloud State and added four rebounds and a team-leading five assists in 16 minutes of play.

The physical nature of the game continued in the second half, as Minnesota State whittled the Huskies lead to 50-48 midway through the third quarter. That was when the foul calls started to go St. Cloud State's way, as free throws by Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / North), Caitlyn Peterson (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North) and Katrina Theis (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) boosted the team's lead to 57-50 with three minutes remaining.

Free throws and continued hot shooting from Evans allowed the Huskies to hold a 62-53 lead over Minnesota State entering the fourth and final quarter of play. However, the Mavericks were bound and determined to make things interesting in the final 10 minutes of play, as they continuously cut St. Cloud State's lead to five, sometimes four points. Once, Minnesota State even managed to get within three of the lead at 64-61, but the Huskies prevailed, as free throws by Theis and Peterson clinched the 84-77 victory for St. Cloud State.

Evans led the Huskies in both points and shooting Saturday afternoon, as she scored 23 points on 7-11 shooting from the floor with a 5-6 mark from three-point range. Theis ended her day with a nice double-double, finishing the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, while Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) and Kilboten finished the night in double-digits in at least one stat category. Wortz finished the game with 10 points while Kilboten tallied a team-leading 11 rebounds in the game.

With the win, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 12-4 and the team is now 9-3 in NSIC play. The Huskies will return to action on Friday, January 24 the face Northern State at 5:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, South Dakota.