Huskies open 2021 against Upper Iowa

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The time has come.

It has been 304 days, 20 hours and approximately thirty minutes since the St. Cloud State University women's basketball team last took the court for a game. This Saturday, the Huskies will finally be able to break that streak. After months of waiting, St. Cloud State will (finally) open the 2020-21 season on Saturday, January 2 as the team hosts the Upper Iowa University at 4 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall.

The Huskies have waited a long time for this game as they saw a miraculous season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019-20. For that reason, but not that reason alone, St. Cloud State expects to be a force to be reckoned with in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Though the Huskies lost a handful of key players to graduation, including starter Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia), they return the majority of their core, including four, kinda five starters (see fun fact below).

St. Cloud State's season will look a little different in 2020-21. Due to the delayed start, the Huskies will play one nonconference series against an opponent in the NSIC South Division the weekend of January 2-3. After that, St. Cloud State will play seven consecutive series against NSIC North Division opponents, and will play the same opponent back-to-back nights rather than schedule partners. Additionally, the NSIC opted for a single gender site schedule in 2020-21, meaning the basketball teams won't be playing doubleheaders as in past years.

Due to COVID-19 protocols, fans will not be allowed to attend the Huskies weekend games against the Peacocks. They will, however, be able to tune in to the games in a variety of ways, including live states, video and WJON's live radio broadcast, featuring JW Cox.

Here are the five things to know before this weekend's basketball opener against Upper Iowa:

2nd - St. Cloud State has some unfinished business to attend to this season, and, despite high expectations, still plans to play with a chip on its shoulder. The Huskies were picked to finished second in the NSIC North Division Preseason Poll despite winning the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament in 2019-20. The team also has some unfinished business to attend to, as the team's NCAA Tournament run was cut short back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

23 - Not to dwell on the past, but St. Cloud State had a pretty outstanding year in 2019-20. The Huskies posted a 23-7 overall record at the end of the year with a 16-6 mark in NSIC play. A key factor in this success: none other than head coach Lori Fish, who enters her 12th season at the helm. Maybe an even more impressive tidbit? Fish was named a finalist for the 2020 United States Marine Corps/WBCA NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year award after that impressive season.

5 - Technically, St. Cloud State does return five regular starters from the 2019-20 roster; however, not all five were consistent starters throughout the year. After Katrina Theis (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) went down with an injury in January last year, Erin Navratil (Albany, Minn. / Albany) stepped up to the plate, becoming a regular starter in an already stacked line up. Other returners on the 2020-21 roster: Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson), Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) and Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North).

2 - Speaking of Navratil, she is one of two dual-sport student-athletes on the women's basketball roster. Sophomore Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) joined the team this past fall after the fall volleyball season was cancelled due to COVID-19. In high school, she was a two-time All-Conference honoree and Team MVP on the basketball court and was an honor roll student off the court.

10.0+ - Five different St. Cloud State women's basketball players averaged 10.0+ points during the 2019-20 season. Former Husky Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) led the team in points/game average at 13.9, but Wortz was right on her heels at 13.2. In fact, Wortz led the team in scoring in NSIC play, averaging 13.5 points in 22 conference games. Other players who averaged double-digit scoring in 2019-20: Evans (11.0), Kilboten (13.0) and Theis (10.8).

Bonus fact:

2 - We promise you're not seeing double. St. Cloud State has two sets of sisters on its roster: Tori and Liza Wortz and Kelsey and Tori Peschel (Sauk Centre, Minn. / Sauk Centre). Tori is one of four first years on the Huskies roster this season along with Morgan Draheim (Hortonville, Wis. / Hortonville), Jasmine Litt (Pulaski, Wis. / Pulaski) and Dru Henning (Mukwanago, Wis. / Mukwanago).