Huskies face #4 Fort Hays State and Newman at season opening tournament

HAYS, KANSAS - It is time! After months and months of waiting, the St. Cloud State University women's basketball team is back in action with a season opening showdown to remember. The Huskies will open the 2021-22 season by facing the #4 team in the country, Fort Hays State University, and Newman in a weekend tournament in Hays, Kansas.

St. Cloud State will face the nationally ranked Tigers at 6:00 p.m. CT on Friday, November 19 before taking on the Jets at 2:00 p.m. CT on Saturday. Friday's season opener will be the first meeting between the Huskies and Fort Hays since 2016, and it will be the first meeting with Newman since 2017. The game between the Tigers and St. Cloud State should be tightly contested, as both teams appeared in the NCAA tournament last season. The Huskies, in particular, are looking to return to the NCAA Regional after falling in the first round to Central Missouri in 2020-21.

Both games will be available for viewing on the MIAA Network and live stats will be available over the weekend. Score updates will also be made to the team's official Twitter page (@SCSUHUSKIES_WBB) when possible.

Here are the five things to know before St. Cloud State's season opener in Hays, Kansas:

727 - It has been 727 days since the Huskies last played a nonconference opponent. In fact, St. Cloud State's last nonconference game occurred on November 23, 2019, when the Huskies lost to Northern Michigan by a final score of 55-53. Of note, St. Cloud State did not play a nonconference schedule in 2020-21, as the season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

3 - The Huskies have faced Fort Hays and Newman three times in program history, with two of them coming against the Tigers. St. Cloud State is 0-2 all-time against Fort Hays, losing by a score of 52-44 in 2015-16 and 88-73 in 2016-17. The Huskies are 1-0 all-time against the Jets as they beat Newman 72-62 in 2016-17.

5 - If St. Cloud State's line up looks familiar this weekend, that's because it should. The Huskies return all five starters from the 2020-21 season, including super seniors Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson), Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / North) and Caitlyn Peterson (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville North). The trio opted to return for their extra season after scoring 579 of the 1168 points the Huskies scored last season. Those three additionally pulled in 278 rebounds during last year's shortened season and amassed 110 assists, 36 blocks and 53 steals.

14.4 - In addition to Wortz, Kilboten and Peterson, Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) returns to St. Cloud State for her fourth season with the Huskies. The reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, Evans was equally as skilled on offense as she was on defense, averaging 14.4 points per game at the conclusion of the season. Evans additionally led the team with 56 assists and 38 steals while totaling five blocks as a guard.

249/159 - St. Cloud State's Katrina Theis (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) is looking like her old self heading into Friday's season opener in Kansas. Though Theis appeared in all 18 games in 2020-21, she spent most of the season still recovering from a knee injury that ended her second season in 2019-20. The Huskies and head coach Lori Fish are hoping Theis is back to her old self. In 2018-19, the then freshman was named to the NSIC's All-Rookie team after scoring 249 points and pulling in 159 rebounds. She was on pace to put up similar numbers in 2019-20 before the injury.