Friday, December 6
Minot, ND
5:30 P.M.
St. Cloud State
at
Minot State
St. Cloud State Women’s Basketball Readies for Conference Openers
12/4/2024 10:56:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Huskies look to snap two-game skid
St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Women's Basketball (3-2) open up conference play this weekend as they travel to Minot State on Friday, December 6 and then to Minnesota Crookston on Saturday, December 7. Friday's game is set for 5:30 p.m. while Saturday's game is slated for 3:30 p.m.
Follow the Huskies
Live State will be provided by Minot State on Friday and then by Minnesota Crookston on Saturday. Both games will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network and broadcasted on the Varsity Network. Steve Linzmeier, the Voice of St. Cloud State Basketball, can be heard on the audio broadcast for both games.
Last Time Out
St. Cloud State closed out their five-game homestand this past weekend as they took on Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday.
The Huskies jumped out to a fast start in the first quarter as they opened the game on a 10-3 run. Shooting 58% in the first quarter, St. Cloud State would lead 24-17 at the end of the first frame. The Huskies' offense in the second quarter started to go cold as they scored their first points of the quarter at the 3:51 mark after a three-pointer by Alana Zarneke to lead 27-25. The teams battled late into the second as the game would be tied at 31 going into halftime. The start of the third quarter saw the Rangers use a 7-2 run to lead 38-33. SCSU remained in striking distance as they never trailed by more than six points in the period, but found themselves down 43-47 going into the fourth quarter. St. Cloud State continued to fight late into the game as a three-pointer by Alyssa Stamer set the score at 58-61. The Rangers did their job late in the game as they converted six of their eight free throws to shut down any potential opportunities for the Huskies. St. Cloud State would ultimately fall 69-63 as they shot 31% for the game and 22% in the final three quarters. Jada Eggebrecht led the Huskies in scoring as she dropped a season-high of 21 points while grabbing four rebounds and making three three-pointers. Abigail O'Reilly nearly tallied a double-double with eight points and a career-high of 13 rebounds with six being offensive.
Series History
Friday's game against Minot State will be the 26th meeting between the teams with the Huskies holding a 20-5 record. St. Cloud State has won 11 of the past 12 matchups against the Beavers and are in the midst of a three-game winning streak after three victories last season.
The first meeting at Halenbeck Hall saw the Huskies open the first quarter bombarding the Beavers from deep as they knocked in three of their four three-point attempts. Dru Henning cashed in two of those threes on her way to a nine-point, four assist, four steal, and three rebound afternoon. Jasmine Litt made a buzzer beating layup to give the Huskies a 23-17 lead heading into the second quarter. Minot responded with a 12-6 run early in the quarter to tie the game at 29. The Huskies found themselves only up two-points heading into halftime as Minot State made a buzzer beating layup of their own to cut into that deficit. Coming out of halftime, SCSU turned up the defense, holding Minot to 26% from the field in the second half after shooting 66% in the first half. The Huskies started to break the game open as Jada Eggebrecht scored 10 of her 19 points in the third quarter on 3-of-4 shooting with two made threes. Ashley Sawicki scored the final four points in the third quarter for the Huskies and blocked a potential buzzer beating layup to end the period. St. Cloud retained its momentum in the fourth, outscoring the Beavers 19-7 on its way to a 72-54 win.
The second meeting at Minot State saw the Huskies offense sputter in the first quarter and they trailed 14-6 after the first 10 minutes. Sawicki scored all six of SCSU's points and the team shot 18% from the field, missing all seven of its three-point attempts. The Huskies started to make up ground, opening the second quarter on a 7-2 run that was capped by Eggebrecht nailing a deep three-pointer. St. Cloud State trailed by three, but after 6-0 Beavers run, the Huskies deficit was up to nine points with 2:30 left in the half. St. Cloud State recovered, finishing the quarter strong, countering the MISU 6-0 run with a 6-0 run of its own. Alana Zarneke cashed a three-pointer with 20 seconds left in the first half and the Huskies trailed 22-18 at halftime.
The first half was one to forget for the SCSU offense as they shot a lowly 24% from the field and 15% from three-point range. Defensively, the Huskies were sound, holding Minot State to 40% from the field and forcing 13 Beavers turnovers.
The teams traded the first two baskets in the opening minutes of the second half before the Beavers used a 7-0 run to push their lead to 10 points. St. Cloud State answered, scoring on its next three possessions – including back-to-back threes by Eggebrecht and Makenna Vanzant which forced a timeout by Minot State. Coming out of the timeout, the Huskies forced a miss which led to Zarneke draining her second three-pointer of the game off an assist by Vanzant. MISU made a layup on its next possession, but Zarneke tickled the twine again, making her third three-pointer of the game, this time off an assist by Morgan Draheim. The Beavers made a three-pointer of their own to push their lead back to five. The teams both missed on their next possession, but off the miss by MISU, Vanzant found Zarneke on the fastbreak who splashed her third three of the quarter. Jasmine Litt forced a turnover for the Huskies on the next possession and Draheim picked up the ball and took it coast to coast to tie the game at 40. MISU missed their next shot as Vanzant came away with the rebound and again found the hot hand of Zarneke who burned her fourth three-pointer of the quarter as SCSU took a 43-40 lead going into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, Dru Henning gave SCSU a six-point lead after she cashed a three-pointer of her own to bring the score to 48-42 with 7:43 remaining in the game. The Beavers continued to battle late into the fourth as St. Cloud State's lead had been cut down to a single point with 3:17 left in the game. Henning again came up big for SCSU as a jumper in the paint to give the Huskies some breathing room as they led 53-50 with 2:06 remaining. St. Cloud State took a timeout with 56 seconds left, still holding a three-point lead. On the offensive possession, Sawicki created great post position in the paint as Draheim entered the ball to her. Sawicki turned over her right shoulder and finished the left-handed layup to give the Huskies a 55-50 lead. St. Cloud State would go on to win 57-54 for their fifth consecutive victory and eighth win in its last nine games.
The final game between the teams last season was high stakes as they met in the First Round of the NSIC Tournament. The Huskies were clicking on all cylinders early in the game, jumping out to an 11-0 lead just over four minutes into the game. The Beavers scored their first point at the 5:30 mark and closed the quarter on a 10-7 run to trim their deficit to eight after the first 10 minutes. Jada Eggebrecht got off to a nice start, scoring seven points in the first quarter on 3-of-4 shooting as the Huskies shot 66.7% (8-of-12) as a team. SCSU's lead never dipped below seven points for the remainder of the quarter and it went into the half, leading 31-22. Eggebrecht scored six of the Huskies' 13 points in the quarter and shot 3-of-4 from the field again, giving her 13 first half points on an extremely efficient 6-of-8 shooting.
The Huskies shot over 50% from the field in the first half and held MISU to 25.8% (8-of-31) from the field and 13.3% (2-of-15) from three-point range.
St. Cloud State stretched its lead throughout the third quarter before taking its biggest advantage of the game, 20 points, with just under a minute left in the period. Jasmine Litt carried some of her momentum over from the regular season finale as she scored seven points in the third on a perfect 3-of-3 from the field. Minot State was able to get its deficit under 10 points on three occasions in the final quarter of play but was never able to get closer than eight points. The Huskies knocked down 12-of-13 (92.3%) of their free throws in the fourth to seal the victory.
Dru Henning and Tori Peschel each had perfect fourth quarters while playing the entire 10 minutes. Henning scored seven points on 2-of-2 from the field including 1-of-1 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the line. Peschel poured in seven of her own points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. The Beavers kept pace in the fourth quarter, making all 10 of their free throw attempts while also matching SCSU's 25 points. Maya Aguilar scored 11 of her 18 points in the final 10 minutes. The Huskies took the game, 78-61, and advanced to the NSIC Quarterfinals.
Saturday's game against Minnesota Crookston will be the 43rd matchup between the programs with St. Cloud State holding a 34-8 advantage. The Huskies are currently on an 8-game winning streak against the Golden Eagles after taking both games last year.
The first matchup between the teams took place at Halenbeck Hall. St. Cloud State went back and forth with the Eagles to start the game and halfway through the first quarter were down three-points. The Huskies rallied with an 11-2 run to close out the quarter and never look back. Crookston cut what was once an eight-point lead to four points halfway through the second quarter, but the Huskies rallied again with a 15-7 run of their own, heading into halftime with a 12-point lead. St. Cloud State comfortably led by double-digits the rest of the game on their way to a commanding 72-51 victory.
The second matchup against the Golden Eagles saw both teams struggle mightily offensively, as the Huskies shot just 18% from the field and the Golden Eagles shot 21%. SCSU held 9-8 at the end of the quarter. The offense for the Huskies showed substantial improvement in the second quarter, as they used a 19-5 run to take a 14-point lead with 3:11 left in the first half. SCSU went into halftime with a 39-23 lead after they blitzed the Golden Eagles in the second quarter. The Huskies shot 66% from the field and made all six of their three-point attempts on their way to a 30-point quarter.
St. Cloud State led by 12+ points for the majority of the third quarter, but a 7-0 run brought UMC within eight points with just under three minutes left in the third. In the final stretch of the quarter, the Huskies commenced on a 13-1 run, making four three-pointers, two of which came from Jada Eggebrecht. The Huskies went into the final 10 minutes with a 61-41 lead. SCSU comfortably led by double-digits points in the fourth quarter and it left Crookston with a 79-64 victory.
Scouting Minot State
The Minot State Beavers come into this matchup holding a 1-7 record and having lost their lone conference matchup with a 63-70 loss to Minnesota Crookston. The Beavers are coming off a 2023-24 season where they placed 10th after going 10-22 with a 7-15 mark in conference play. In the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll Minot State was picked to finish 14th.
This season, the Beavers return their top scorer from last season in Sydney Gustavsson who was the lone player to score in double digits with a 12.1 per game average. Through eight games, Gustavsson is down to 6.4 points per game while shooting 25% from the field. Freshman Lara Dobbins has paced the Beavers in scoring so far this season with 11.3 points per game while shooting 48% from the field and 42% from three. She also averages 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
Head Coach Ryan Clark enters his first season with the Beavers in 2024-25 after replacing Mike Brandt who had been with the program for three seasons. Prior to Minot State, Clark came from Lake Region State College where he totaled back-to-back 20-12 seasons.
Scouting Minnesota Crookston
The Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles enter this matchup with the Huskies holding a 3-4 record with a 1-0 record in NSIC play after a 70-63 victory over Minot State. UMC came into this season projected to finish 12th in the conference after a 2023-24 season where they finished 13th after tallying a 9-19 overall record and a 6-16 record in conference play.
This year, the Golden Eagles return their All-Conference guard Emma Miller who averaged 17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists last season. Through seven games, Miller is up to 22.4 points per game while averaging 5.4 rebounds and a team-high 2.9 assists. She is shooting 43% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc. Two other Golden Eagles score in double-figures with Riley Jenkins and Willow Thiel scoring 11.3 and 10.4 points respectively. Jenkins is shooting 48% from the field while chipping in 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 stocks. Thiel shoots 42% from the floor while grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game.
Head Coach Natalie Monynihan enters her second season with Minnesota Crookston in 2024-25. Prior to her time with the Golden Eagles, Monynihan was an assistant coach at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.
Minnesota Crookston will host Bemidji State on Friday before playing the Huskies on Saturday.
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.
Follow the Huskies
Live State will be provided by Minot State on Friday and then by Minnesota Crookston on Saturday. Both games will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network and broadcasted on the Varsity Network. Steve Linzmeier, the Voice of St. Cloud State Basketball, can be heard on the audio broadcast for both games.
Last Time Out
St. Cloud State closed out their five-game homestand this past weekend as they took on Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday.
The Huskies jumped out to a fast start in the first quarter as they opened the game on a 10-3 run. Shooting 58% in the first quarter, St. Cloud State would lead 24-17 at the end of the first frame. The Huskies' offense in the second quarter started to go cold as they scored their first points of the quarter at the 3:51 mark after a three-pointer by Alana Zarneke to lead 27-25. The teams battled late into the second as the game would be tied at 31 going into halftime. The start of the third quarter saw the Rangers use a 7-2 run to lead 38-33. SCSU remained in striking distance as they never trailed by more than six points in the period, but found themselves down 43-47 going into the fourth quarter. St. Cloud State continued to fight late into the game as a three-pointer by Alyssa Stamer set the score at 58-61. The Rangers did their job late in the game as they converted six of their eight free throws to shut down any potential opportunities for the Huskies. St. Cloud State would ultimately fall 69-63 as they shot 31% for the game and 22% in the final three quarters. Jada Eggebrecht led the Huskies in scoring as she dropped a season-high of 21 points while grabbing four rebounds and making three three-pointers. Abigail O'Reilly nearly tallied a double-double with eight points and a career-high of 13 rebounds with six being offensive.
Series History
Friday's game against Minot State will be the 26th meeting between the teams with the Huskies holding a 20-5 record. St. Cloud State has won 11 of the past 12 matchups against the Beavers and are in the midst of a three-game winning streak after three victories last season.
The first meeting at Halenbeck Hall saw the Huskies open the first quarter bombarding the Beavers from deep as they knocked in three of their four three-point attempts. Dru Henning cashed in two of those threes on her way to a nine-point, four assist, four steal, and three rebound afternoon. Jasmine Litt made a buzzer beating layup to give the Huskies a 23-17 lead heading into the second quarter. Minot responded with a 12-6 run early in the quarter to tie the game at 29. The Huskies found themselves only up two-points heading into halftime as Minot State made a buzzer beating layup of their own to cut into that deficit. Coming out of halftime, SCSU turned up the defense, holding Minot to 26% from the field in the second half after shooting 66% in the first half. The Huskies started to break the game open as Jada Eggebrecht scored 10 of her 19 points in the third quarter on 3-of-4 shooting with two made threes. Ashley Sawicki scored the final four points in the third quarter for the Huskies and blocked a potential buzzer beating layup to end the period. St. Cloud retained its momentum in the fourth, outscoring the Beavers 19-7 on its way to a 72-54 win.
The second meeting at Minot State saw the Huskies offense sputter in the first quarter and they trailed 14-6 after the first 10 minutes. Sawicki scored all six of SCSU's points and the team shot 18% from the field, missing all seven of its three-point attempts. The Huskies started to make up ground, opening the second quarter on a 7-2 run that was capped by Eggebrecht nailing a deep three-pointer. St. Cloud State trailed by three, but after 6-0 Beavers run, the Huskies deficit was up to nine points with 2:30 left in the half. St. Cloud State recovered, finishing the quarter strong, countering the MISU 6-0 run with a 6-0 run of its own. Alana Zarneke cashed a three-pointer with 20 seconds left in the first half and the Huskies trailed 22-18 at halftime.
The first half was one to forget for the SCSU offense as they shot a lowly 24% from the field and 15% from three-point range. Defensively, the Huskies were sound, holding Minot State to 40% from the field and forcing 13 Beavers turnovers.
The teams traded the first two baskets in the opening minutes of the second half before the Beavers used a 7-0 run to push their lead to 10 points. St. Cloud State answered, scoring on its next three possessions – including back-to-back threes by Eggebrecht and Makenna Vanzant which forced a timeout by Minot State. Coming out of the timeout, the Huskies forced a miss which led to Zarneke draining her second three-pointer of the game off an assist by Vanzant. MISU made a layup on its next possession, but Zarneke tickled the twine again, making her third three-pointer of the game, this time off an assist by Morgan Draheim. The Beavers made a three-pointer of their own to push their lead back to five. The teams both missed on their next possession, but off the miss by MISU, Vanzant found Zarneke on the fastbreak who splashed her third three of the quarter. Jasmine Litt forced a turnover for the Huskies on the next possession and Draheim picked up the ball and took it coast to coast to tie the game at 40. MISU missed their next shot as Vanzant came away with the rebound and again found the hot hand of Zarneke who burned her fourth three-pointer of the quarter as SCSU took a 43-40 lead going into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, Dru Henning gave SCSU a six-point lead after she cashed a three-pointer of her own to bring the score to 48-42 with 7:43 remaining in the game. The Beavers continued to battle late into the fourth as St. Cloud State's lead had been cut down to a single point with 3:17 left in the game. Henning again came up big for SCSU as a jumper in the paint to give the Huskies some breathing room as they led 53-50 with 2:06 remaining. St. Cloud State took a timeout with 56 seconds left, still holding a three-point lead. On the offensive possession, Sawicki created great post position in the paint as Draheim entered the ball to her. Sawicki turned over her right shoulder and finished the left-handed layup to give the Huskies a 55-50 lead. St. Cloud State would go on to win 57-54 for their fifth consecutive victory and eighth win in its last nine games.
The final game between the teams last season was high stakes as they met in the First Round of the NSIC Tournament. The Huskies were clicking on all cylinders early in the game, jumping out to an 11-0 lead just over four minutes into the game. The Beavers scored their first point at the 5:30 mark and closed the quarter on a 10-7 run to trim their deficit to eight after the first 10 minutes. Jada Eggebrecht got off to a nice start, scoring seven points in the first quarter on 3-of-4 shooting as the Huskies shot 66.7% (8-of-12) as a team. SCSU's lead never dipped below seven points for the remainder of the quarter and it went into the half, leading 31-22. Eggebrecht scored six of the Huskies' 13 points in the quarter and shot 3-of-4 from the field again, giving her 13 first half points on an extremely efficient 6-of-8 shooting.
The Huskies shot over 50% from the field in the first half and held MISU to 25.8% (8-of-31) from the field and 13.3% (2-of-15) from three-point range.
St. Cloud State stretched its lead throughout the third quarter before taking its biggest advantage of the game, 20 points, with just under a minute left in the period. Jasmine Litt carried some of her momentum over from the regular season finale as she scored seven points in the third on a perfect 3-of-3 from the field. Minot State was able to get its deficit under 10 points on three occasions in the final quarter of play but was never able to get closer than eight points. The Huskies knocked down 12-of-13 (92.3%) of their free throws in the fourth to seal the victory.
Dru Henning and Tori Peschel each had perfect fourth quarters while playing the entire 10 minutes. Henning scored seven points on 2-of-2 from the field including 1-of-1 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the line. Peschel poured in seven of her own points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. The Beavers kept pace in the fourth quarter, making all 10 of their free throw attempts while also matching SCSU's 25 points. Maya Aguilar scored 11 of her 18 points in the final 10 minutes. The Huskies took the game, 78-61, and advanced to the NSIC Quarterfinals.
Saturday's game against Minnesota Crookston will be the 43rd matchup between the programs with St. Cloud State holding a 34-8 advantage. The Huskies are currently on an 8-game winning streak against the Golden Eagles after taking both games last year.
The first matchup between the teams took place at Halenbeck Hall. St. Cloud State went back and forth with the Eagles to start the game and halfway through the first quarter were down three-points. The Huskies rallied with an 11-2 run to close out the quarter and never look back. Crookston cut what was once an eight-point lead to four points halfway through the second quarter, but the Huskies rallied again with a 15-7 run of their own, heading into halftime with a 12-point lead. St. Cloud State comfortably led by double-digits the rest of the game on their way to a commanding 72-51 victory.
The second matchup against the Golden Eagles saw both teams struggle mightily offensively, as the Huskies shot just 18% from the field and the Golden Eagles shot 21%. SCSU held 9-8 at the end of the quarter. The offense for the Huskies showed substantial improvement in the second quarter, as they used a 19-5 run to take a 14-point lead with 3:11 left in the first half. SCSU went into halftime with a 39-23 lead after they blitzed the Golden Eagles in the second quarter. The Huskies shot 66% from the field and made all six of their three-point attempts on their way to a 30-point quarter.
St. Cloud State led by 12+ points for the majority of the third quarter, but a 7-0 run brought UMC within eight points with just under three minutes left in the third. In the final stretch of the quarter, the Huskies commenced on a 13-1 run, making four three-pointers, two of which came from Jada Eggebrecht. The Huskies went into the final 10 minutes with a 61-41 lead. SCSU comfortably led by double-digits points in the fourth quarter and it left Crookston with a 79-64 victory.
Scouting Minot State
The Minot State Beavers come into this matchup holding a 1-7 record and having lost their lone conference matchup with a 63-70 loss to Minnesota Crookston. The Beavers are coming off a 2023-24 season where they placed 10th after going 10-22 with a 7-15 mark in conference play. In the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll Minot State was picked to finish 14th.
This season, the Beavers return their top scorer from last season in Sydney Gustavsson who was the lone player to score in double digits with a 12.1 per game average. Through eight games, Gustavsson is down to 6.4 points per game while shooting 25% from the field. Freshman Lara Dobbins has paced the Beavers in scoring so far this season with 11.3 points per game while shooting 48% from the field and 42% from three. She also averages 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
Head Coach Ryan Clark enters his first season with the Beavers in 2024-25 after replacing Mike Brandt who had been with the program for three seasons. Prior to Minot State, Clark came from Lake Region State College where he totaled back-to-back 20-12 seasons.
Scouting Minnesota Crookston
The Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles enter this matchup with the Huskies holding a 3-4 record with a 1-0 record in NSIC play after a 70-63 victory over Minot State. UMC came into this season projected to finish 12th in the conference after a 2023-24 season where they finished 13th after tallying a 9-19 overall record and a 6-16 record in conference play.
This year, the Golden Eagles return their All-Conference guard Emma Miller who averaged 17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists last season. Through seven games, Miller is up to 22.4 points per game while averaging 5.4 rebounds and a team-high 2.9 assists. She is shooting 43% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc. Two other Golden Eagles score in double-figures with Riley Jenkins and Willow Thiel scoring 11.3 and 10.4 points respectively. Jenkins is shooting 48% from the field while chipping in 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 stocks. Thiel shoots 42% from the floor while grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game.
Head Coach Natalie Monynihan enters her second season with Minnesota Crookston in 2024-25. Prior to her time with the Golden Eagles, Monynihan was an assistant coach at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.
Minnesota Crookston will host Bemidji State on Friday before playing the Huskies on Saturday.
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.
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