St. Cloud State
2-1,1-0NSIC
University of Mary
0-1,0-1NSIC
Huskies dominate en route to 90-54 win over Mary
1/8/2021 8:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - When things go well, they go really well for the St. Cloud State University women's basketball team.
Really REALLY well.
Everything came together for the Huskies Friday evening, as they dominated the visiting University of Mary to open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play with a 90-54 win over the Marauders. It marks the first time St. Cloud State has scored 90 points against an NSIC opponent since 2016-17 and the first time the Huskies opened conference play with a "W" since 2017-18.
It looked like the win wasn't going to be easy to come by in the opening minutes of the first quarter, as Mary streaked ahead to a 9-2 lead at the first media time out of the game. The time out was a game changer for St. Cloud State. The team looked completely different out of the break, as the Huskies scored 18 unanswered points to lead 20-9 at the end of the first quarter.
Though the Marauders managed to cut the St. Cloud State lead to 21-13 two minutes into the second quarter, it was the closest Mary would come to touching the Huskies the remainder of the game. In fact, St. Cloud State outscored Mary 23-10 in the second quarter alone, allowing the team to take a 43-19 lead into the locker room at half.
The scoring didn't stop for the Huskies in the third and fourth quarters, as they put up 24 points in the third and 23 in the fourth, making it their most offensively productive game of 2020-21. Meanwhile, the defense was just as stellar, as St. Cloud State held the Marauders to a .357 field goal percentage from the floor, including a .182 mark from beyond the arc. More importantly, Mary didn't score nearly as many points as the Huskies, as they cemented the 90-54 win with a layup by first year Tori Peschel (Sauk Centre, Minn. / Sauk Centre).
Four different student-athletes scored in double-digits for St. Cloud State Friday evening, including Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North), Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson), Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) and Katrina Theis (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove). Kilboten and Wortz led the way with 15 points on over .500 shooting from the floor, while Evans and Theis added 13 and 12 points respectively. Erin Navratil (Albany, Minn. / Albany) led the team in rebounds, as she tallied a career-high 10, including seven in the first half.
With the win, the Huskies overall record improves to 2-1, and they open NSIC play with a flawless 1-0 record. St. Cloud State will go for win No. 2 on the weekend as it hosts Mary at 4 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall.
