St. Cloud State
8-3,5-2NSIC
University of Minnesota Crookston
3-10,3-8NSIC
Women's basketball earns 59-49 win over Minnesota-Crookston
2/12/2021 11:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - It's not always pretty, but the St. Cloud State University women's basketball has found a way to win. Close games, comebacks, blow outs. The Huskies have won every which way in 2020-21, and they did so again Friday evening. With a dominating defense, St. Cloud State earned a resounding 59-49 win over the University of Minnesota-Crookston, improving to 8-3 on the season with a 5-2 mark in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play.
The Huskies were on fire to open the game, as they pulled a head to a 15-6 lead after the first quarter. Though the team cooled slightly in the second, St. Cloud State still outscored Minnesota-Crookston 10-9 in the second quarter and held a 25-15 lead over the Golden Eagles at the half.
Minnesota-Crookston found some sort of an offensive groove in the third quarter, as the Golden Eagles slowly but surely cut into the Huskies 10 point lead. It started with a turnover here, a three-pointer there and a handful of defensive stops before Minnesota-Crookston pulled even with St. Cloud State 29-29 with 5:52 remaining in the third quarter. Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere) regained the lead for the Huskies, as her two free throws regained a 31-29 lead for St. Cloud State with three minutes to spare in the quarter.
The Golden Eagles, though, still seemed to have an answer for everything the Huskies threw at them. Everything, that is, except Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North). The senior forward scored six straight points for St. Cloud State at the end of the third quarter to give the Huskies a 38-34 advantage heading into the fourth and final quarter of play.
Things were tight to start the fourth, as Minnesota-Crookston continued to stick with St. Cloud State threw the opening three minutes. Kelsey Peschel (Sauk Centre, Minn. / Sauk Centre) turned the tides in the Huskies direction, as her three-pointer at 6:44 gave St. Cloud State a 41-38 lead. After that point, the momentum seemed squarely on the Huskies side, even when the Golden Eagles tied the game 45-45 with 3:24 remaining in the game. St. Cloud State's defense was just too much, as the team forced several key Minnesota-Crookston turnovers and ended the game on a 12-3 run to clinch the 59-49 victory.
Evans' huge second half helped her close the game with a team-leading 18 points, to go along with four rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals. Her teammate Kilboten ended the night with a double-double, tallying a team-leading 10 rebounds to go along with her 13 assists.
With the win, the Huskies overall record improves to 8-3 with a 5-2 mark in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will return to action on Saturday when it hosts the same Minnesota-Crookston team at 4 p.m.
