Huskies drop heartbreaker in Bemidji 65-62

Friday, February 21

Bemidji, MN

5:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

19-6,16-5NSIC

Bemidji State University

9-16,6-15NSIC

St. Cloud St.

Bemidji St.

Madelin Dammann led with 22 points for the Huskies, moving her career total up to 962.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

2/21/2020 9:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BEMIDJI, MINNESOTA – The St. Cloud State University women's basketball team has been through more ups than downs this 2019-20 season. Entering the final weekend of regular season play, the Huskies already secured hosting duties for the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) tournament and were looking for two final wins to end the regular season on a high note. Sadly, that was not in the cards Friday evening, as St. Cloud State fell on the road to Bemidji State University by a final score of 65-62.

The Huskies outplayed the Beavers in every facet of the game minus points, as they shot .450 from the floor, .333 from three-point range and .900 from the charity stripe, all of which were better percentages than Bemidji State. Where St. Cloud state lost mightily was the turnover battle. The Huskies committed an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers during the game while the Beavers committed just 10 in 40 minutes of play.

The Huskies also struggled to get their offense going in the first half, as they entered the locker room trailing 32-29 after the opening 20 minutes of play. After outscoring Bemidji State 19-14 in the first quarter, though, the Huskies only managed ten second quarter points, allowing the Beavers to take the three-point advantage. St. Cloud State's top scorers were also held under double digits in the first two quarters, as Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) led the way in scoring in the first half of the ballgame, as she tallied nine points for the Huskies.

St. Cloud State tried to make a run at Bemidji State in the third quarter, as a last second basket by Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) tied things up at 44-44. With one quarter remaining to determine a victor, the Huskies and Beavers both went after it, matching each other bucket for bucket through the opening eight minutes. With exactly one minute remaining in the game, and the two teams knotted 60-60, St. Cloud State committed a costly turnover on offense, resulting in a 4-0 run by Bemidji State and a late 64-60 lead for the Beavers.

With seven seconds remaining, the Huskies seemingly pulled within one at 64-63 when Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) threw up a last second three as the shot clock was running out. After a long review, the refs decided Dammann stepped on the line, resulting in a 64-62 Bemidji State advantage. With under 10 second on the clock, St. Cloud State was forced to foul, but there was plenty of hope, as the Beavers were shooting well under .500 from the charity stripe. Shooter Rachael Heittola missed the first and made the second, meaning the Huskies had possession with seven seconds and all their three-point shooters on the court. Unfortunately, a win just wasn't in the cards, as St. Cloud State's last second shot rimmed off, resulting in the 65-62 win.

Dammann lead the Huskies scorers Friday evening, as she led with 21 points on 8-13 shooting, including a 3-6 mark from beyond the arc. Wortz finished the game with 13 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.

With the loss, the Huskies overall record falls to 19-6 and they are now 16-5 in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will close the regular season on Saturday, February 22 when the team faces Minnesota-Crookston at 3:30 p.m. in Crookston, Minnesota.