Huskies come up short in 79-72 loss to Minnesota-Crookston

Saturday, February 22

Crookston, MN

3:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

19-7,16-6NSIC

University of Minnesota Crookston

5-21,4-18NSIC

St. Cloud St.

Minn.-Crookston

The Huskies close the 2019-20 regular season with their best record in conference play since joining the NSIC in 2008.

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

2/22/2020 5:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CROOKSTON, MINN. – With its postseason fate already known, the St. Cloud State University women's basketball team was looking to end its season on a high note Saturday afternoon. The Huskies were set to face the University of Minnesota-Crookston in the final Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) regular season game of the 2019-20 season, a team St. Cloud State handily beat earlier in January. Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles were able to turn the tables on the Huskies, as the home team pulled off the 79-72 victory.

St. Cloud State saw huge offensive production from three of its five starters, as Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / North), Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) and Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) all scored in double-digits in the defeat. Their strong performances weren't enough to propel the Huskies to victory, however, as the Golden Eagles put together the performance of the season to upend St. Cloud State on their own court. After the first 10 minutes of play, Minnesota-Crookston held a slim 19-15 advantage over the Huskies, as St. Cloud State struggled to get its offense going early in the quarter.

The Huskies did manage to figure things out in the second, as they held a slim 37-36 advantage heading into the locker room at halftime. That lead only grew throughout the third quarter, as St. Cloud State used a 7-0 scoring run to take a 53-42 lead over the Golden Eagles midway through the third quarter.

That was when Minnesota-Crookston went on a run of its own. Despite the Huskies best defensive attempts, the Golden Eagles went on a 6-0 run of their own, tying the game at 55-55 before taking a 58-55 in the final seconds of the third quarter. From that point on, St. Cloud State found itself playing catch up for the fourth quarter, as Minnesota-Crookston jumped out to a 65-55 lead before the Huskies offense got going again. Dammann jump started the run, scoring eight of 10 consecutive points for St. Cloud State, allowing the team to even things up 65-65 with 5:41 remaining in regulation.

The Huskies and Golden Eagles traded baskets for the next two minutes, with neither team holding a bigger lead than two points. Eventually, though, Minnesota-Crookston went on a run St. Cloud State could never recover from, as the Golden Eagles went on a 6-0 run to take a 75-69 lead with 33 seconds remaining in regulation. The Huskies were then forced to foul, but unlike Bemidji State, Minnesota-Crookston's shooters did not miss a shot from the charity stripe, as the team handed St. Cloud State a disappointing 79-72 loss.

Kilboten led the team in points Saturday afternoon, charting 21 total on 8-10 shooting from the floor and a 5-5 mark from the free throw line. Wortz added 18 points in the loss while Dammann closed the game with 16 for the Huskies.

With the loss, St. Cloud State closes the regular season with a 19-7 record and a 16-6 mark in NSIC play. The season isn't for the Huskies, though, who will host the first round of the NSIC tournament on Wednesday, February 26. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Halenebck Hall. More details regarding St. Cloud State's first round opponent will be available later this weekend.