Women's basketball opens homestand with Sioux Falls, SMSU

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - It feels like forever since the last time the St. Cloud State University women's basketball team played in the comforts of Halenbeck Hall. After two weekends on the road, the Huskies will return home to host Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State this upcoming Friday and Saturday in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

St. Cloud State will now play the early game on Friday and Saturday after playing the late game throughout the first half of the season. This means the Huskies will host the Cougars at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, January 28 and tip off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 29. All fans in attendance must wear a mask in accordance with the University's COVID-19 policy, which applies to all attendees ages three and older.

Live stats and video will be available for both contests, and a live radio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App. Score updates will be posted to the team's Twitter account (@SCSUHUSKIES_WBB).

Here are the five things to know before this weekend's NSIC series:

1525 - Fifth year senior Tori Wortz (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) is having a spectacular season for the Huskies, and it got a little better last week. On Friday, Wortz became just the 11th player in program history to score 1500 points thanks to her 12 points performance in a win over Wayne State. In Saturday's win over Augustana, Wortz cracked the top-10 in scoring, tallying her 1521 point to move to #10 all-time and surpass former standout Talisha Barlow. Wortz is the first player since Barlow to eclipse the 1500 point threshold and the fourth to do so in the last 20 seasons.

.394/.386 - The Cougars and Mustangs rank toward the bottom of the NSIC shooting percentage, as they shoot .394 and .386 from the floor respectively. However, both Sioux Falls and SMSU hold their opponents to extremely low shooting percentages. The Mustangs currently rank fifth in the NSIC in shooting defense, holding opponents to .385 shooting percentage from the floor through 12 NSIC contests. Sioux Falls is just one spot below its travel partner, as the Cougars have held opponents to 261-657 shooting from the floor for a .397 percentage.

2.4/2.2 - One of the keys to SMSU's defense success is Abuk Akoi who ranks third in the NSIC in blocks per game and total blocks this season. The senior has racked up 29 blocks in conference play to average 2.4 points per game this season. She will be up against the Huskies top shot blocker Nikki Kilboten (Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire North) this weekend, who, like Akoi, is averaging just over 2.2 blocks per game this season, totaling 28 in 13 games played.

4-7 - St. Cloud State did not see Sioux Falls last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Cougars hold the all-time series with a 7-4 record, including a 5-2 mark in NSIC play. The last meeting between the two teams was a memorable one for the Huskies, as they upended nationally ranked Sioux Falls 76-59 on March 2, 2020 to advance to the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Championship game. Wortz scored her 1000th career point in the victory and helped St. Cloud State win its third consecutive game against the Cougars, who were nationally ranked in both meetings that season. The two teams were supposed to play in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament that same year, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

18 - The Mustangs made a little bit of history this weekend, as the team went 18-18 from the free throw line to break the program record for most free throws made without a miss. SMSU hit the mark exactly one season after setting the previous record in a game against Minnesota State, in which the Mustangs went 17-17 from the charity stripe.