Huskies to face Bulldogs in NSIC opener

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University women's basketball team put together a jam packed schedule to start the 2021-22 season. Just four days after facing #4 Fort Hays State in their season opener, the Huskies will hit the road again to face rival Minnesota-Duluth on Tuesday, November 23 to open the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) schedule. St. Cloud State will then turn around and host Northern Michigan in its first home game of 2021-22 at 2:00 p.m. CT on Friday, November 26.

Tuesday's conference opener will end a three-game road trip for the Huskies, who faced both Fort Hays and Newman on the road last weekend. St. Cloud State went 1-1 on the trip, holding the nationally ranked Tigers to just 58 points in a 58-51 loss before rebounding for a big 73-59 win over Newman on Saturday. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, road tripped to Wisconsin and Michigan last weekend and earned two road wins over UW-Parkside (69-61) and Michigan Tech (67-50).

Friday's post-Turkey Day contest will be the Huskies first home game of 2021-22, as they host Northern Michigan in the final nonconference game of the regular season. Tip off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall, and the first 100 fans in attendance will receive a FREE St. Cloud State women's basketball schedule poster.

Live stats, video and radio commentary will be available for both Huskies basketball games this weekend, and score updates will be made to the team's official Twitter account (@scsuhuskies_wbb) when possible.

Here are the five things to know before St. Cloud State's NSIC and home openers:

2 - Like the Huskies, Minnesota-Duluth faced a top-25 opponent in its season opener. The Bulldogs fell to #2 Drury 65-58 on Tuesday, November 16, as only one student-athlete scored in double-digit points. Reigning NSIC Player of the Year Brooke Olson scored 17 points and nabbed 11 rebounds against the national runner ups, but she was the only player with substantial stats for Minnesota-Duluth.

58.5/58.7 - St. Cloud State and the Bulldogs have been the No. 1 and 2 defensive teams in the NSIC for the past three seasons, and it doesn't look like that will change in 2021-22. The Huskies are surrendering an average of 58.5 points per game this season, while Minnesota-Duluth is just a step behind, as the Bulldogs have surrendered an average of 58.7 points per game to their opponents. Additionally, both St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Duluth are holding opponents to sub-.400 shooting percentages, including sub .250 marks from the three-point line.

33 - With her 10 points over the weekend, Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North) became the 33rd player in program history to score 1000 career points as a Husky. Kilboten additionally made a little history on the defensive side of the ball as well. The fifth-year senior tallied seven blocks in St. Cloud State's 58-51 loss to Fort Hays, a number that ranks third all-time in single-game blocks.

55-53 - The last meeting between the Huskies and Wildcats occurred in 2019-20, with Northern Michigan coming out on top 55-53. Former St. Cloud State Madelin Dammann led the offense with 25 points in the loss, while Kilboten added 10 points in the loss.

3 - Three Huskies scored in double-digits in their season opening trip over the weekend: Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson), Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) and Morgan Draheim (Hortonville, Wis. / Hortonville). Wortz scored 19 points in the loss to the Tigers before tallying 10 in the win over Newman. Evans scored a season-high 24 points in the win over the Jets and 12 against Fort Hays, while Draheim scored a career-high 15 points in the win over Newman.