St. Cloud State
3-1,1-0NSIC
Northern Michigan University
3-2,0-0GLIAC
Huskies down Wildcats 53-35
11/26/2021 4:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Defense holds Northern Michigan to .255 shooting in the game
ST. CLOUD, MINN. – It was quite a homecoming for the St. Cloud State University women's basketball team. The Huskies played perhaps their best game of the 2021-22 season, improving to 3-1 with a dominant 53-35 win over Northern Michigan University.
DOGS vs. CATS
St. Cloud State's defense was absolutely stifling in the first quarter, as the Huskies held Northern Michigan to just seven first half points and INSERT SHOOTING NUMBERS HERE. On the flip side, St. Cloud State's offensive was also on fire in the opening 10 minutes of play. The Huskies simply could not miss from anywhere on the floor, as they scored 22 points in the first quarter to hold a 22-7 lead after 10.
The second 10 points went just as well, as St. Cloud State outscored the Wildcats 19-6 to take a 38-16 lead into the locker room at half. Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North) was unstoppable under the basket, as she scored a team-leading 17 points, more than the entire Northern Michigan team scored in the first half, on 8-12 shooting. The fifth year senior also pulled in a team-leading four rebounds in the first half, while seven other Huskies tallied at least one basket in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Defense was the name of the game in the second half, as the two teams scored a combined 34 points in the final 20 minutes of play. In fact, St. Cloud State's defense held the Wildcats to .250 shooting in the third and fourth quarters, allowing the visitors just 19 second half points, 11 of which were scored in the third. Though the Huskies shooting percentage dipped before .400 for the first time all game, enough damage was done in the first half, allowing St. Cloud State to win the game by a final score of 53-35.
TOP HUSKIES
- Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North) was once again the top scorer for the Huskies, as she scored 20 points for the second time this week. The fifth year senior closed the game with a team-leading 20 points and seven rebounds while shooting 9-14 from the floor.
- Troi Peschel (Sauk Center, Minn. / Sauk Centre) closed the game with six rebounds, all of which were tallied on defense. Her sister Kelsey led the team with three assists and added a steal in the victory as well.
OUTSCORING THE WILDCATS
Kilboten scored 17 of her team-leading 20 points in the first half, outscoring the entire Northern Michigan team in the opening 20 minutes of play. It marks the first time this season a single Husky has outscored the opposing team. Additionally, Kilboten becomes the first St. Cloud State student-athlete to record back-to-back 20+ point performances this season.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
The Huskies held the Wildcats to 35 total points and a .255 shooting percentage in the game, the lowest totals any opponent has put together against St. Cloud State this season. In four games this year, the Huskies defense has held opponents to 56.0 points per game and no opponent has scored 60 points against St. Cloud State this season. The Huskies' defense has not put up numbers like this since the 2017-18 season, when they did not allow an opponent to score 60+ points in a game until their fourth game of the season (November 25, 2017 vs. Newman).
UP NEXT
St. Cloud State will resume conference play on Thursday, December 2. The Huskies will travel to Crookston, Minnesota to take on Minnesota-Crookston at 7:30 p.m. CT. St. Cloud State will then return to Halenbeck Hall to host Bemidji State at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 4.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Women's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
