Balanced attack helps Huskies slay Dragons 73-65

Saturday, January 25

Moorhead, MN

3:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

14-4,11-3NSIC

Minnesota State University Moorhead

14-7,7-5NSIC

St. Cloud St.

MSU Moorhead

Senior Madelin Dammann concluded the weekend road trip with 23 points in the Huskies win over MSU-Moorhead.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

1/25/2020 5:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MOORHEAD, MINN. – Tic-tac-toe, give us an "x", give us an "o". Give St. Cloud State University women's basketball eight wins in a row!

The Huskies are on a tear unlike any other. In fact, as of Saturday, it could even be labeled slightly historic. For the first time since 2015, St. Cloud State slayed the Minnesota State University-Moorhead Dragons, as the team used a well-balanced offensive attack and strong defensive play to upend its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) foe 73-65. The win is the Huskies eight straight since the start of the second semester and marks the first time they have beat both MSU-Moorhead and Northern State in the same weekend since 2013-14.

The game between St. Cloud State and the Dragons promised to be one of the best of the season, as the two teams ranked as the No. 1 and 2 defenses in the conference entering Saturday. After the first 20 minutes of play, it looked like a defensive juggernaut was in the cards, as the Huskies held a slim 13-12 lead over MSU-Moorhead. St. Cloud State's offense, though, broke through the Dragons defenses in the second quarter, as the Huskies spurred ahead to a 37-28 lead at the half. Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / North) once again lead St. Cloud State's offensive attach with eight first half points, while Erin Navratil (Albany, Minn. / Albany) led with four rebounds for the Huskies.

The third quarter proved to be the closest since the first, as St. Cloud State and MSU-Moorhead both scored 21 points in 10 minutes, allowing the Huskies to hold a 58-49 lead entering the final quarter of play. No lead, though, really felt secure enough against the Dragons, as they continuously tried to cut into St. Cloud State's lead. The Huskies, though, stayed firm and used huge second halves from Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) and Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) to secure the 73-65 victory over MSU-Moorhead.

Dammann ended the game as the team's leading scorer, tallying 23 points on 7-11 shooting, including an extremely impressive 5-6 mark from three-point land. Wortz added 18 points on equally impressive shooting, also going 7-11 from the floor and 3-4 from the beyond the arch, while tallying four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 36 minutes of work. Kilboten ended the game with 17 points and led the way with five rebounds and one block for St. Cloud State.

The team's defense was truly the star of the show, as the Huskies held MSU-Moorhead to just 65 points in the win and only allowed three Dragons to score in double-digits. Reigning All-Conference stud Megan Hintz only managed 14 points against St. Cloud State and made just six shots all afternoon, both well below her 2019-20 averages. In fact, MSU-Moorhead shot under .500 from the floor and was just 7-21 from three-point range thanks to strong, defensive play by the Huskies.

With the win, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 14-4 and the team is now 11-3 in NSIC play. It also extends the Huskies win streak to eight, as they've opened the second half of the season with a prestine 8-0 record, all against NSIC opponents. Next weekend, St. Cloud State will put that record on the line as it looks to conclude the month of January with a perfect 9-0 record. Standing in the Huskies way? Upper Iowa University, which the team will face on Friday, January 31. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Fayette, Iowa.