Women's basketball returns to NSIC North play at Northern State

ABERDEEN, S.D. - The St. Cloud State University women's basketball team is *finally* playing a new team.

No actually. We're serious. After back-to-back weeks facing the University of Mary, the Huskies will face a new Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division foe, as they travel to Aberdeen, South Dakota to face the Northern State University Wolves Friday and Saturday.

Not only is St. Cloud State facing a new opponent this weekend, it is also returning to "conference" play. After cancelling its games at Minot State last week due to a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the Beavers, the Huskies were forced to look elsewhere to get games in. They were fortunate enough to schedule a series at Mary, though the games did not count towards the team's NSIC North record.

That all changes this weekend, as St. Cloud State faces Northern State at 7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday. Fans can follow along via live stats and video, and additionally can tune into JW Cox broadcast on 1390 WJON granite City Sports.

Here are the five things to know before this weekend's women's basketball top off in Aberdeen:

4 - The Huskies are currently riding a four-game win streak against the Wolves, having won every contest between the two teams since the 2018-19 season. In fact, St. Cloud State won two tightly contested games in 2019-20, as it defeated Northern State on its own court 68-60 before earning a 69-64 win in Halenbeck Hall.

17.3 - Senior forward Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North) really likes playing the Wolves. Like really REALLY likes playing Northern State. In the last four meetings between the two teams, Kilboten has scored 69 total points and averages 17.3 points per game against the Wolves. Last season, she tallied a career-high 28 points, leading the Huskies to victory in their 69-64 win over Northern State. Prior to her 28-point performance, Kilboten put together back-to-back 18 point performances against the Wolves.

3 / 5 - Northern State is currently 0-2 in NSIC North Division play after dropping two close contests to Minnesota-Crookston last weekend. In fact, the Wolves lost both games by less than six points, as they dropped the first game of the series 66-63 before falling in game two 69-64. This season, Northern State's margin of victory is exactly 2.0 points, as the team swept Wayne State to open the season January 2-3.

8.3 - Erin Navratil (Albany, Minn. / Albany) has become a rebounding machine for the Huskies as of late. In the last four games, the junior has led the team in the stat, averaging an impressive 8.3 rebounds per game in that stretch. She even pulled in a career-high and NSIC leading 10 rebounds in the Huskies 90-54 home win over Mary on January 8 and tallied 33 total in the four games against the Marauders.

57.5 / 17.8 - St. Cloud State's defense is once again one of the top in the conference, holding opponents to an average of 57.5 points per game. However, the Huskies will face one of their toughest opponents of the season this weekend, as they are tasked with stopping Northern State's Lexi Wadsworth. The Wolves guard is currently leading the team with 17.8 points per game, which ranks second in the NSIC behind Brooke Olson of Minnesota-Duluth and Anna Brecht of Sioux Falls.