
Photo by: Isaac Bentrott
St. Cloud State Women’s Basketball Readies for Winona State, Minnesota State
1/15/2025 4:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Huskies have won three of their past four games
St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Women's Basketball (9-6, 6-4 NSIC) wrap up their four-game road trip as they travel to Winona State on Friday, January 17 and then to No. 10 Minnesota State Mankato on Saturday, January 18. Friday's game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. while Saturday's will be played at 5:30 p.m.
Follow the Huskies
Live Stats will be provided by Winona State on Friday and then by Minnesota State 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 hit the road this past weekend as they traveled to Concordia-St. Paul on Wednesday and then to Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.
Wednesday's game against CSP saw the Golden Bears get off to a fast start as they led 8-2 in the first three minutes of the game. The Huskies started to then find their offensive footing as a three by Jada Eggebrecht capped off an 8-2 run of their own as the game would be tied 10-10. The teams battled the rest of the quarter as the Huskies trailed 14-16 at the end of the first quarter after Alyssa Stamer sunk a jumper with six seconds left. Through the first five minutes of the second quarter, neither team held more than a four-point lead. Rachel Kottke gave SCSU their first lead of the game as she cashed a three to put the Huskies up 25-24 with 4:52 left in the half. The teams traded leads over the next two minutes as the Golden Bears led by a single point after a jumper by Lydia Haack. From that point, CSP started to seize control of the game as they closed the half on an 11-2 run to lead 37-29 at the break. The momentum continued in favor of the Golden Bears at the start of the second half as back-to-back threes extended their lead to 14 and led to a timeout by SCSU. CSP's defense stifled St. Cloud State's offense as they forced 15 turnovers in the second half while the Huskies shot 30% from the field. The Golden Bears led by 12+ points the rest of the game as they went on to defeat St. Cloud State 72-55. Alana Zarneke paced the Huskies in scoring with 14 points on 6/11 shooting. She also grabbed three rebounds. This was Zarneke's third consecutive game scoring in double-digits. Jada Eggebrecht tallied seven points, and three rebounds while tying her career-high with four steals. This was Eggebrecht's third multi-steal game of the season.
In what was a defensive oriented start to the game against Duluth, a three by Rachel Kottke gave the Huskies a 7-5 lead at the 3:51 mark of the first quarter. Both teams started to find their offense late in the quarter as SCSU narrowly held a 14-11 lead. St. Cloud State built up a six point lead early in the second quarter, but would ultimately be tied 19-19 with 6:36 left in the half. Alana Zarneke broke that tie as she cashed a three to spark a Huskies run. After getting a defensive stop, the Reagan Briggs came away with a rebound to put St. Cloud State on a fast break. She pushed the ball up to Jada Eggebrecht who dumped it down to Zarneke. She finished the layup while being fouled. Zarneke converted the and-one opportunity and then came away with an inbound steal where she then found a streaking Briggs for a layup. After another stop, Eggebrecht knocked down a long two pointer to put St. Cloud State up 16 after an 18-2 run. SCSU went into the break holding a 37-26 lead after holding UMD to 24% from the field in the first half. The third quarter saw Duluth start to chip into the lead as they got back within seven points. Back-to-back three's by Kottke and Eggebrecht pushed that lead back up to 11 points. UMD continued to be resilient as they kept fighting, but the Huskies ended the quarter with a bang as Kottke scorched consecutive threes to put SCSU up 14 going into the final frame. St. Cloud State built their lead up to 16 points and led by double-digits the rest of the way as they defeated Minnesota Duluth 79-66. Alana Zarneke had a career-game as she registered her first career double-double with career-highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds. Zarneke was white hot as she shot 7/13 from the field, 3/6 from three, and 8/9 from the free throw line. She also totaled four stocks including a career-high three blocks, and two assists. Rachel Kottke scored 14 points while going 4/5 from three-point range, which was a career-high in makes. She also dished out three assists and grabbed two rebounds. This was Kottke's fifth game this season where she has made 3+ threes.
St. Cloud State Statistical Leaders (total-average)
St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)
All stats accumulated 1/15/25
Chasing 1,000
Coming into this weekend, Jada Eggebrecht is closing in on becoming the 36th Husky to score 1,000 career points. Eggebrecht is currently 72 points away with 928 career points to her name. She is currently averaging a team-high 13.5 points per game. Eggebrecht is also nearing the top-10 in three-pointers made in program history. She has drained 115 career threes which is five shy from cracking the top-10. Eggebrecht is nearing in on passing Rachel Moen for 10th place. Moen has 119 career made threes.
Series History
Friday's game against Winona State will be the 49th all-time meeting between the programs with the Huskies holding a 29-19 advantage in the series. St. Cloud State has won four consecutive games against the Warriors including last year's lone matchup.
At the end of the first quarter, St. Cloud State would narrowly trail 11-13 against Winona State. The Warriors went on to build up a five-point lead in the second quarter, but SCSU rallied with a 6-0 run to take a 19-18 lead with 3:23 left in the half. A layup by Ashley Sawicki gave St. Cloud State a 24-23 lead going into halftime.
While the offense for St. Cloud State struggled, it flexed its defensive muscle by holding Winona to 29% shooting from the field in the half and forced seven Warriors turnovers.
The Huskies started to gain separation in the third quarter. Sawicki and Morgan Draheim combined to score the first eight points for St. Cloud State who took a five-point lead. SCSU continued to expand its lead as Jada Eggebrecht nailed a jumper to give the Huskies a 39-28 lead with 1:04 left in the third. Winona State closed out the final 64 seconds on a 4-0 run to pull itself within seven points going into the 4th quarter. The Warriors kept themselves within striking distance in the fourth quarter, staying within seven points for most of the period, but with 3:56 remaining in the game, the Huskies scored on five consecutive possessions to push their lead up to 17 points. St. Cloud State's defense held the Warriors to 10 points or less in three quarters and forced them into shooting less than 31% from the field in every quarter. St. Cloud State went on to win 55-41, earning its fourth victory in its past five games.
Saturday's game against Minnesota State will be the 114th all-time meeting between the programs with SCSU holding a 67-46 series advantage. Despite the disadvantage in the series, the Mavericks have won the previous two matchups including last year's meeting.
The first quarter at MSU was tightly contested with neither side able to take a substantial lead. After trailing by four, the Huskies took a three-point lead after Jasmine Litt knocked down consecutive corner three-pointers to cap off an 8-1 Huskies run. St. Cloud State then went scoreless the rest of the quarter and the Mavericks closed out the final 3:20 on an 8-0 to lead 17-12. MSU built its lead up to eight points early in the second quarter, but an 8-2 run brought the Huskies back within two points at the 3:39 mark of the period. SCSU closed out the half on a 5-0 run after Makenna Vanzant drained a three-pointer with 22 seconds left, bringing the Huskies to within three points at the break.
The Huskies struggled on the offensive end in the first half, shooting 30% from the field but were sound defensively, holding the Mavericks to 32% from the field.
The Mavericks jumped out of the gates with a 6-0 run coming out of halftime, but Morgan Draheim was able to end the run with a floater in the paint to bring the Huskies within seven points. Turnovers began to pile up for the Huskies as the Mavericks began to take control of the game with a 13-0 run over the next four minutes. The floater by Draheim was the only field goal made by the Huskies in the quarter as they shot 1-of-10 from the field and committed 11 turnovers in the period. Minnesota State shot 55% from the field in the quarter and held a 59-31 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Mavericks led by 24+ points for the rest of the way, going on to win 71-47.
Scouting Winona State
The Winona State Warriors enter this matchup with the Huskies holding an 8-9 record with a 4-7 mark in conference play. The Warriors have lost four of their past five games, but snapped their four-game skid with a win against Bemidji State on Saturday. The Warriors came into this season projected to finish 10th in the NSIC following a 2023-24 season where they tallied a 10-18 record with a 9-13 mark in conference play. The Warriors qualified for the NSIC Tournament where they were defeated 67-72 against MSU Moorhead.
Through 17 games, two Warriors score in double-figures in Olivia Gamoke and Hailey Markworth. Gamoke leads the team with 14.6 points per game while shooting 38.9% from the field and 35.7% from three. She is also grabbing 3.6 rebounds per game. Markworth is averaging 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 46.4% from the field.
Head Coach Ana Wurtz enters her fourth season with the Warriors in the 2024-25 season. Wurtz has totaled a 41-59 record during her tenure with Winona State.
Winona State Statistical Leaders (total-average)
Scouting Minnesota State Mankato
The Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks come into matchup sitting atop the NSIC with a 15-2 record and a perfect 11-0 mark in conference play. MSU is in the midst of an 11-game winning streak. The Mavericks are currently the No. 10 ranked team in the latest WBCA Poll. In the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Mavericks were projected to finish first after coming off a 32-5 record with a 20-2 mark in conference play. Minnesota State is currently the reigning NSIC Champion, NSIC Tournament Champion, NCAA Central Region Tournament Champion, and National Champion. Mankato defeated Texas Woman's University 89-73 to win their second national championship.
The Mavericks hold two of the top five scorers in the NSIC in Natalie Bremer, who's 20.6 points ranks second, and Destinee Bursch, who's 16.8 points ranks fifth. Bremer is shooting 49.4% from the field while grabbing six rebounds per game and nabbing 3.1 steals per game. Bursch shoots 55.0% from the field to go along with 3.9 rebounds and assists and 1.5 steals.
Head Coach Emilee Thiesse enters her 12th season with the Mavericks in the 2024-25 season. She has accumulated a 228-116 record while guiding Minnesota State to five NCAA Tournament appearances including each of the last three years.
Minnesota State will take on MSU Moorhead on Friday before facing off against the Huskies on Saturday.
Minnesota State Statistical Leaders (total-average)
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 Stats will be provided by Winona State on Friday and then by Minnesota State 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 hit the road this past weekend as they traveled to Concordia-St. Paul on Wednesday and then to Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.
Wednesday's game against CSP saw the Golden Bears get off to a fast start as they led 8-2 in the first three minutes of the game. The Huskies started to then find their offensive footing as a three by Jada Eggebrecht capped off an 8-2 run of their own as the game would be tied 10-10. The teams battled the rest of the quarter as the Huskies trailed 14-16 at the end of the first quarter after Alyssa Stamer sunk a jumper with six seconds left. Through the first five minutes of the second quarter, neither team held more than a four-point lead. Rachel Kottke gave SCSU their first lead of the game as she cashed a three to put the Huskies up 25-24 with 4:52 left in the half. The teams traded leads over the next two minutes as the Golden Bears led by a single point after a jumper by Lydia Haack. From that point, CSP started to seize control of the game as they closed the half on an 11-2 run to lead 37-29 at the break. The momentum continued in favor of the Golden Bears at the start of the second half as back-to-back threes extended their lead to 14 and led to a timeout by SCSU. CSP's defense stifled St. Cloud State's offense as they forced 15 turnovers in the second half while the Huskies shot 30% from the field. The Golden Bears led by 12+ points the rest of the game as they went on to defeat St. Cloud State 72-55. Alana Zarneke paced the Huskies in scoring with 14 points on 6/11 shooting. She also grabbed three rebounds. This was Zarneke's third consecutive game scoring in double-digits. Jada Eggebrecht tallied seven points, and three rebounds while tying her career-high with four steals. This was Eggebrecht's third multi-steal game of the season.
In what was a defensive oriented start to the game against Duluth, a three by Rachel Kottke gave the Huskies a 7-5 lead at the 3:51 mark of the first quarter. Both teams started to find their offense late in the quarter as SCSU narrowly held a 14-11 lead. St. Cloud State built up a six point lead early in the second quarter, but would ultimately be tied 19-19 with 6:36 left in the half. Alana Zarneke broke that tie as she cashed a three to spark a Huskies run. After getting a defensive stop, the Reagan Briggs came away with a rebound to put St. Cloud State on a fast break. She pushed the ball up to Jada Eggebrecht who dumped it down to Zarneke. She finished the layup while being fouled. Zarneke converted the and-one opportunity and then came away with an inbound steal where she then found a streaking Briggs for a layup. After another stop, Eggebrecht knocked down a long two pointer to put St. Cloud State up 16 after an 18-2 run. SCSU went into the break holding a 37-26 lead after holding UMD to 24% from the field in the first half. The third quarter saw Duluth start to chip into the lead as they got back within seven points. Back-to-back three's by Kottke and Eggebrecht pushed that lead back up to 11 points. UMD continued to be resilient as they kept fighting, but the Huskies ended the quarter with a bang as Kottke scorched consecutive threes to put SCSU up 14 going into the final frame. St. Cloud State built their lead up to 16 points and led by double-digits the rest of the way as they defeated Minnesota Duluth 79-66. Alana Zarneke had a career-game as she registered her first career double-double with career-highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds. Zarneke was white hot as she shot 7/13 from the field, 3/6 from three, and 8/9 from the free throw line. She also totaled four stocks including a career-high three blocks, and two assists. Rachel Kottke scored 14 points while going 4/5 from three-point range, which was a career-high in makes. She also dished out three assists and grabbed two rebounds. This was Kottke's fifth game this season where she has made 3+ threes.
St. Cloud State Statistical Leaders (total-average)
- Points- Jada Eggebrecht (202-13.5)
- Rebounds- Alana Zarneke (71-4.7)
- Offensive rebounds- Abigail O'Reilly (33-3.0)
- Assists- Alyssa Stamer (51-3.4)
- Steals- Alana Zarneke (23-1.5)
- Blocks- Paige Lambe (18-1.2)
- Stocks- Alana Zarneke (37-2.4)
- Field goals made- Jada Eggebrecht (76-5.1)
- Three-point field goals made- Alana Zarneke (26-1.7)
- Free throw makes- Abigail O'Reilly (30-2.7)
- Minutes- Jada Eggebrecht (473-31.5)
St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)
- 67.0 points per game (8th) | 66.2 points per game allowed (6th) | 0.8 scoring margin (8th)
- 41.5 field goal percentage (7th) | 34.4 three-point percentage (4th) | 72.2 free throw percentage (6th)
- 42.9 opponent field goal percentage (13th) | 34.7 opponent three-point percentage (13th)
- 37.6 rebounds per game (9th) | 12.3 offensive rebounds per game (4th)
- 33.9 opponent rebounds per game (3rd) | 3.7 rebounding margin (6th)
- 15.5 turnovers per game (9th) | 16.0 turnovers forced per game (5th) | 0.47 turnover margin (5th)
- 3.60 blocks per game (7th)
- 8.20 steals per game (5th)
- 16.33 assists per game (2nd)
- 6.5 three-point field goals made per game (8th)
All stats accumulated 1/15/25
Chasing 1,000
Coming into this weekend, Jada Eggebrecht is closing in on becoming the 36th Husky to score 1,000 career points. Eggebrecht is currently 72 points away with 928 career points to her name. She is currently averaging a team-high 13.5 points per game. Eggebrecht is also nearing the top-10 in three-pointers made in program history. She has drained 115 career threes which is five shy from cracking the top-10. Eggebrecht is nearing in on passing Rachel Moen for 10th place. Moen has 119 career made threes.
Series History
Friday's game against Winona State will be the 49th all-time meeting between the programs with the Huskies holding a 29-19 advantage in the series. St. Cloud State has won four consecutive games against the Warriors including last year's lone matchup.
At the end of the first quarter, St. Cloud State would narrowly trail 11-13 against Winona State. The Warriors went on to build up a five-point lead in the second quarter, but SCSU rallied with a 6-0 run to take a 19-18 lead with 3:23 left in the half. A layup by Ashley Sawicki gave St. Cloud State a 24-23 lead going into halftime.
While the offense for St. Cloud State struggled, it flexed its defensive muscle by holding Winona to 29% shooting from the field in the half and forced seven Warriors turnovers.
The Huskies started to gain separation in the third quarter. Sawicki and Morgan Draheim combined to score the first eight points for St. Cloud State who took a five-point lead. SCSU continued to expand its lead as Jada Eggebrecht nailed a jumper to give the Huskies a 39-28 lead with 1:04 left in the third. Winona State closed out the final 64 seconds on a 4-0 run to pull itself within seven points going into the 4th quarter. The Warriors kept themselves within striking distance in the fourth quarter, staying within seven points for most of the period, but with 3:56 remaining in the game, the Huskies scored on five consecutive possessions to push their lead up to 17 points. St. Cloud State's defense held the Warriors to 10 points or less in three quarters and forced them into shooting less than 31% from the field in every quarter. St. Cloud State went on to win 55-41, earning its fourth victory in its past five games.
Saturday's game against Minnesota State will be the 114th all-time meeting between the programs with SCSU holding a 67-46 series advantage. Despite the disadvantage in the series, the Mavericks have won the previous two matchups including last year's meeting.
The first quarter at MSU was tightly contested with neither side able to take a substantial lead. After trailing by four, the Huskies took a three-point lead after Jasmine Litt knocked down consecutive corner three-pointers to cap off an 8-1 Huskies run. St. Cloud State then went scoreless the rest of the quarter and the Mavericks closed out the final 3:20 on an 8-0 to lead 17-12. MSU built its lead up to eight points early in the second quarter, but an 8-2 run brought the Huskies back within two points at the 3:39 mark of the period. SCSU closed out the half on a 5-0 run after Makenna Vanzant drained a three-pointer with 22 seconds left, bringing the Huskies to within three points at the break.
The Huskies struggled on the offensive end in the first half, shooting 30% from the field but were sound defensively, holding the Mavericks to 32% from the field.
The Mavericks jumped out of the gates with a 6-0 run coming out of halftime, but Morgan Draheim was able to end the run with a floater in the paint to bring the Huskies within seven points. Turnovers began to pile up for the Huskies as the Mavericks began to take control of the game with a 13-0 run over the next four minutes. The floater by Draheim was the only field goal made by the Huskies in the quarter as they shot 1-of-10 from the field and committed 11 turnovers in the period. Minnesota State shot 55% from the field in the quarter and held a 59-31 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Mavericks led by 24+ points for the rest of the way, going on to win 71-47.
Scouting Winona State
The Winona State Warriors enter this matchup with the Huskies holding an 8-9 record with a 4-7 mark in conference play. The Warriors have lost four of their past five games, but snapped their four-game skid with a win against Bemidji State on Saturday. The Warriors came into this season projected to finish 10th in the NSIC following a 2023-24 season where they tallied a 10-18 record with a 9-13 mark in conference play. The Warriors qualified for the NSIC Tournament where they were defeated 67-72 against MSU Moorhead.
Through 17 games, two Warriors score in double-figures in Olivia Gamoke and Hailey Markworth. Gamoke leads the team with 14.6 points per game while shooting 38.9% from the field and 35.7% from three. She is also grabbing 3.6 rebounds per game. Markworth is averaging 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 46.4% from the field.
Head Coach Ana Wurtz enters her fourth season with the Warriors in the 2024-25 season. Wurtz has totaled a 41-59 record during her tenure with Winona State.
Winona State Statistical Leaders (total-average)
- Points- Olivia Gamoke (248-14.6)
- Rebounds- Vivica Bretton (94-5.5)
- Offensive rebounds- Hailey Markworth (30-1.8)
- Assists- Mattie Schimenz (44-2.6)
- Steals- Sadie Jarmolowicz (18-1.1)
- Blocks- Sadie Jarmolowicz (8-0.5)
- Stocks- Sadie Jarmolowicz (26-1.6)
- Field goals made- Olivia Gamoke (89-5.2)
- Three-point field goals made- Olivia Gamoke (50-2.9)
- Free throw makes- Mattie Schimenz (29-1.7)
- Minutes- Olivia Gamoke (547-32.2)
- 66.4 points per game (9th) | 68.6 points per game allowed (9th) | -2.2 scoring margin (9th)
- 41.6 field goal percentage (6th) | 32.0 three-point percentage (7th) | 71.7 free throw percentage (8th)
- 40.4 opponent field goal percentage (5th) | 31.6 opponent three-point percentage (9th)
- 36.6 rebounds per game (11th) | 9.1 offensive rebounds per game (13th)
- 36.5 opponent rebounds per game (7th) | 0.1 rebounding margin (10th)
- 14.3 turnovers per game (2nd) | 11.9 turnovers forced per game (14th) | -2.35 turnover margin (12th)
- 1.53 blocks per game (14th)
- 4.59 steals per game (14th)
- 11.41 assists per game (13th)
- 8.5 three-point field goals made per game (2nd)
Scouting Minnesota State Mankato
The Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks come into matchup sitting atop the NSIC with a 15-2 record and a perfect 11-0 mark in conference play. MSU is in the midst of an 11-game winning streak. The Mavericks are currently the No. 10 ranked team in the latest WBCA Poll. In the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Mavericks were projected to finish first after coming off a 32-5 record with a 20-2 mark in conference play. Minnesota State is currently the reigning NSIC Champion, NSIC Tournament Champion, NCAA Central Region Tournament Champion, and National Champion. Mankato defeated Texas Woman's University 89-73 to win their second national championship.
The Mavericks hold two of the top five scorers in the NSIC in Natalie Bremer, who's 20.6 points ranks second, and Destinee Bursch, who's 16.8 points ranks fifth. Bremer is shooting 49.4% from the field while grabbing six rebounds per game and nabbing 3.1 steals per game. Bursch shoots 55.0% from the field to go along with 3.9 rebounds and assists and 1.5 steals.
Head Coach Emilee Thiesse enters her 12th season with the Mavericks in the 2024-25 season. She has accumulated a 228-116 record while guiding Minnesota State to five NCAA Tournament appearances including each of the last three years.
Minnesota State will take on MSU Moorhead on Friday before facing off against the Huskies on Saturday.
Minnesota State Statistical Leaders (total-average)
- Points- Natalie Bremer (330-20.6)
- Rebounds- Ava Stier (106-6.2)
- Offensive rebounds- Ava Stier (46-2.7)
- Assists- Destinee Bursch (66-3.9)
- Steals- Natalie Bremer (49-3.1)
- Blocks- Lucy Leininger (7-0.4)
- Stocks- Natalie Bremer (52-3.3)
- Field goals made- Natalie Bremer (125-7.8)
- Three-point field goals made- Mackenzie Schweim (18-1.1)
- Free throw makes- Natalie Bremer (69-4.3)
- Minutes- Mackenzie Schweim (411-24.2)
- 88.8 points per game (1st) | 72.9 points per game allowed (12th) | 15.9 scoring margin (2nd)
- 46.3 field goal percentage (2nd) | 27.2 three-point percentage (15th) | 69.2 free throw percentage (10th)
- 42.2 opponent field goal percentage (11th) | 29.8 opponent three-point percentage (5th)
- 43.8 rebounds per game (1st) | 16.8 offensive rebounds per game (1st)
- 37.1 opponent rebounds per game (9th) | 6.7 rebounding margin (3rd)
- 16.9 turnovers per game (14th) | 24.9 turnovers forced per game (1st) | 8.06 turnover margin (1st)
- 1.65 blocks per game (13th)
- 15.53 steals per game (1st)
- 16.06 assists per game (4th)
- 4.1 three-point field goals made per game (15th)
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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