Three Huskies earn All-NSIC honors, Evans named Defensive POY
2/24/2021 11:09:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BURNSVILLE, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University women's basketball team weathered the storm that was the 2020-21 regular season. For the second consecutive year, the Huskies earned the No. 2 seed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division and maintained the top defense in the conference throughout the entire year. On Wednesday, three St. Cloud State student-athletes were honored for their outstanding play in 2020-21, as Brehna Evans (De Pere, Wis. / West De Pere), Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) and Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North) earned All-NSIC honors.Â
Evans garnered two honors from the NSIC Wednesday morning, as she was voted First Team All-Conference and the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year. Wortz earned the fourth NSIC All-Conference honor of her career, as she joined Evans on the First Team All-Conference list, while Kilboten earned Second Team All-NSIC honors for the third consecutive season.Â
Evans made quite a name for herself in her third season with the Huskies, as she became the first player in program history to be named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year. A force to be reckoned with both on offense and defense, Evans led St. Cloud State's No. 1 ranked defense with 29 steals in 14 games, averaging an impressive 2.1 steals per game average. She additionally tallied at least two steals in 10 of the Huskies 14 games in 2020-21, and helped the team average 8.1 steals per game while holding opponents to a .367 shooting percentage. As the team's starting point guard, Evans, along with her teammates, held opponent perimeter shooters to a .273 clip from beyond the arc and concluded the regular season ranked 12th in the nation in scoring defense and top-50 in scoring margin, rebounding margin, defensive field goal percentage, three-point defense and blocks per game.
While Evans defense was the tops in the conference, her offensive play was equally impressive, as she led St. Cloud State in several offensive categories at the end of 2020-21. Evans averaged a team-leading 15.1 points per game during the regular season and scored in double-digits in 112 of the team's 14 games. She paved the way with a .401 shooting percentage as a guard and scored a career-high 28 points in a dominant win over then-undefeated Bemidji State. Evans additionally led the team in assists (44), steals (29) and minutes played (31.8) at the end of the regular season.
Wortz is the first four-time All-NSIC recipient in program history, as she earned Second Team All-Conference honors in 2018-19 and 2019-20 and was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2017-18. Wortz lived up to the hype bestowed on her at the beginning of the year, as she was named the St. Cloud State Preseason Player to Watch for the second consecutive season, and put up even bigger offensive numbers than her previous three seasons in a Huskies uniform. The Hutchinson, Minnesota native averaged a career-high 14.7 points in 14 games during the regular season, and ranked second on the team in total points (206), points per game (14.7), steals (27) and assists (37) at the end of the year. Wortz was even more impressive in conference play, as she averaged a team-leading 14.8 points while shooting an impressive .397 clip from three-point range.Â
It wasn't simply Wortz' rankings amongst the team that impressed the NISC coaches, as she ranked top-10 in the conference in several statistical categories at the end of the regular season. Wortz ranked eighth in scoring, fourth in three-pointers per game (2.1) and seventh in steals (1.9) at the end of the regular season. She additionally ranked top-15 in total points, field goal percentage, three-point shooting percentage and minutes at the conclusion of the year.Â
Kilboten earned Second Team All-Conference honor for the second consecutive season after yet another season as a top forward for the Huskies. A defensive stalwart for St. Cloud State, Kilboten led the team in rebounds (89), rebounding average (6.4) and both offensive (29) and defensive (60) rebounds at the end of the regular season and ranked top-15 in the NSIC in all four categories. She additionally ranked fourth in the NSIC in both total blocks and blocks/game average, thanks to her 18 total in 14 games this season.
Kilboten didn't just impress with her defense play, though, as she was a multifaceted force for the Huskies in 2020-21. At the end of the regular season, Kilboten averaged an impressive 10.9 points, and scored in double-digits in the final eight games on St. Cloud State's schedule. She additionally led the team in rebounds in the final four games of 2020-21, and enters the NSIC / Sanford Health Tournament as the reigning Tournament MVP.Â
Evans, Wortz and Kilboten, along with the rest of the Huskies, return to action Friday afternoon, as they take on Minnesota State in the quarterfinal round of the NSIC / Sanford Health Tournament. Tip off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.Â
