Wednesday, February 26
St. Cloud, Minn.
6 p.m.
St. Cloud State
vs
Wayne State College
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Women's basketball to host Wayne State in NSIC/Sanford Health tourney opener
2/24/2020 2:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University women's basketball team is not done playing in Halenbeck Hall this season. Thanks to an impressive win streak and regular season, the Huskies earned the No. 2 seed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division, meaning they will host Wayne State College in the opening round of the conference tournament on Wednesday, February 26 at 6 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall.
This is the second time this season the Huskies and Wildcats will square off and just the second meeting all-time between the two teams in the NSIC tournament. Earlier this season, Wayne State snapped St. Cloud State's 10 game win-streak, as the Wildcats came into Halenbeck Hall and handed the Huskies a 79-58 loss. Since then, Wayne State has not fared well in its NSIC games, as the team ended the season riding a five-game losing streak to fall from the top-5 in the NSIC South Division to the bottom two.
Fans can catch Wednesday night's game in a multitude of ways. Tickets are $10 for adults, $2 for students five and up and all children under the age of five can attend for free. Those who can't make it to Halenbeck Hall can follow along via live stats, video and two live radio broadcasts. Score updates can also be found on the team's official Twitter account (@SCSUHUSKIES_WBB).
Here are the five things to know before Wednesday night's contest:
3 – This marks the third consecutive season the Huskies have hosted the opening round of the NSIC tournament and the fourth time in the past five years. In the previous two contests, St. Cloud State has posted a 1-1 record, falling to Concordia-St. Paul 82-63 in 2017-18 before earning a resounding 80-63 victory over Minnesota State last season. This season, the Huskies are looking to keep their first round win streak alive when they host the Wildcats, though it won't be an easy feat. Wayne State is one of just seven teams to beat St. Cloud State in 2019-20 and did so at home in early February.
2014-15 – The Huskies and Wildcats have squared off in the NSIC Tournament just once in the past 11 years. Back in 2014-15, Wayne State defeated St. Cloud State 76-63 in the quarterfinal round of the NSIC/Sandford Health Tournament, allowing the Wildcats to advance to the semifinal round to face MSU-Moorhead. During an impressive playoff run, Wayne State defeated the Dragons in the semis and eventually faced Northern State in the championship, falling to the Wolves by a final score of 61-45.
19/16 - Head coach Lori Fish has put something magical together at St. Cloud State, leading the team to its best overall and NSIC record since the team first joined the conference in 2008-09. That season, the Huskies posted an overall record of 22-9 and went 12-8 in NSIC play. This season, St. Cloud State finished the regular season with an overall record of 19-7 and went 16-6 in NSIC play. Those 16 wins are the most for the program since joining the NSIC and the 19 overall wins rank second all-time in Fish's tenure.
17+ - This also marks the third consecutive season the Huskies have posted 17+ wins, also the longest such streak in Fish's tenure. The large amount of wins may have something to do with St. Cloud State's well-balanced attack on offense and tenacity on defense. At the conclusion of the regular season, all five regular starts were averaging double-digit points, led by Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) at 13.5 with Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) right on her heels with a 13.3 points per game average. Recently, though, it's been Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North) leading St. Cloud State's scoring charge, as she's averaged 20.4 points over the last five games with 8.8 rebounds a game.
7-8 – The Huskies have played 15 NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament games in their history and posted a 7-8 record in those games. Wednesday's game will mark the 16th NSIC playoff game in program history, and St. Cloud State is looking to get back to .500 in the playoffs with a win over Wayne State.
This is the second time this season the Huskies and Wildcats will square off and just the second meeting all-time between the two teams in the NSIC tournament. Earlier this season, Wayne State snapped St. Cloud State's 10 game win-streak, as the Wildcats came into Halenbeck Hall and handed the Huskies a 79-58 loss. Since then, Wayne State has not fared well in its NSIC games, as the team ended the season riding a five-game losing streak to fall from the top-5 in the NSIC South Division to the bottom two.
Fans can catch Wednesday night's game in a multitude of ways. Tickets are $10 for adults, $2 for students five and up and all children under the age of five can attend for free. Those who can't make it to Halenbeck Hall can follow along via live stats, video and two live radio broadcasts. Score updates can also be found on the team's official Twitter account (@SCSUHUSKIES_WBB).
Here are the five things to know before Wednesday night's contest:
3 – This marks the third consecutive season the Huskies have hosted the opening round of the NSIC tournament and the fourth time in the past five years. In the previous two contests, St. Cloud State has posted a 1-1 record, falling to Concordia-St. Paul 82-63 in 2017-18 before earning a resounding 80-63 victory over Minnesota State last season. This season, the Huskies are looking to keep their first round win streak alive when they host the Wildcats, though it won't be an easy feat. Wayne State is one of just seven teams to beat St. Cloud State in 2019-20 and did so at home in early February.
2014-15 – The Huskies and Wildcats have squared off in the NSIC Tournament just once in the past 11 years. Back in 2014-15, Wayne State defeated St. Cloud State 76-63 in the quarterfinal round of the NSIC/Sandford Health Tournament, allowing the Wildcats to advance to the semifinal round to face MSU-Moorhead. During an impressive playoff run, Wayne State defeated the Dragons in the semis and eventually faced Northern State in the championship, falling to the Wolves by a final score of 61-45.
19/16 - Head coach Lori Fish has put something magical together at St. Cloud State, leading the team to its best overall and NSIC record since the team first joined the conference in 2008-09. That season, the Huskies posted an overall record of 22-9 and went 12-8 in NSIC play. This season, St. Cloud State finished the regular season with an overall record of 19-7 and went 16-6 in NSIC play. Those 16 wins are the most for the program since joining the NSIC and the 19 overall wins rank second all-time in Fish's tenure.
17+ - This also marks the third consecutive season the Huskies have posted 17+ wins, also the longest such streak in Fish's tenure. The large amount of wins may have something to do with St. Cloud State's well-balanced attack on offense and tenacity on defense. At the conclusion of the regular season, all five regular starts were averaging double-digit points, led by Madelin Dammann (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) at 13.5 with Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) right on her heels with a 13.3 points per game average. Recently, though, it's been Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North) leading St. Cloud State's scoring charge, as she's averaged 20.4 points over the last five games with 8.8 rebounds a game.
7-8 – The Huskies have played 15 NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament games in their history and posted a 7-8 record in those games. Wednesday's game will mark the 16th NSIC playoff game in program history, and St. Cloud State is looking to get back to .500 in the playoffs with a win over Wayne State.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballSCSU Winter Athletics Press Conference Women's Basketball
Wednesday, November 27
SCSU Winter Athletics Press Conference - Women's Basketball
Tuesday, December 12
Women's Basketball Championship Feature
Friday, August 25
Coach Fish 300 Wins
Friday, August 25
