St. Cloud State Women’s Basketball faces Sioux Falls and No. 23 Southwest Minnesota State to Start Three-Game Homestand

St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Women's Basketball (10-7, 7-5 NSIC) kick off their three-game homestand by facing off against Sioux Falls on Friday, January 24 and then No. 23 Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday, January 25. Friday's game is set for 7:30 p.m. while Saturday's game will be played at 5:30 p.m.

Follow the Huskies
Tickets to both games are available at scsutickets.com. Live stats will be provided both games by St. Cloud State. 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 both the audio broadcast and livestream for both games.

Last Time Out
This past weekend, St. Cloud State closed out their four-game road trip as they traveled to Winona State and Minnesota State.

Through the first five minutes of the game, Winona State narrowly held a 9-6 advantage after Olivia Gamoke made a three-pointer to break the tie. St. Cloud State started to take control as they held the Warriors scoreless over the next four minutes to now lead 15-9 after a 9-0 run. The Huskies added some fireworks to the end the first quarter as Paige Lambe swished a turn around jumper to beat the buzzer. St. Cloud State would lead 17-11 after the buzzer beater by Lambe. The Huskies held a steady lead throughout most of the second quarter, but free throws by Winona State cut SCSU's lead down to three points. With 2:16 left in the second quarter, Lambe scored the next four points as the lead went back up to seven. Kylan Gerads expanded that lead to nine following an offensive rebound and putback. The Huskies would lead 29-20 going into halftime after holding Winona State to a mere 19% from the field in the half. Winona State opened the second half with some energy as a 4-0 run got the lead down to five. From that point, St. Cloud State started to take control as Jada Eggebrecht capped off a 14-2 run for the Huskies by drilling a three-pointer. SCSU led by 17 points with 4:36 left in the third quarter but kept pouring it on the Warriors as Eggebrecht splashed another three with 22 seconds left to extend the lead to 22 points. The fourth quarter saw the Huskies lead by 21+ points throughout as they came away with a 66-41 victory against Winona State. The Warriors scored less than 11 points in every quarter and shot 21% from the field in the game. Kristi Kottke paced the Huskies in scoring with 15 points to go along with six rebounds, and four steals. Kottke shot 7/9 from the field. Jada Eggebrecht stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists. She made five of her nine field goal attempts and drained three three-pointers.

The game against Minnesota State started off slowly for both teams as the Huskies trailed 4-2 at the 5:41 mark of the first quarter. From that point the Mavericks flexed their muscles as St. Cloud State went scoreless for the next three minutes as MSU took a 17-2 lead. A jumper by Paige Lambe stopped the scoreless run, but the Mavericks continued to apply pressure as they closed out the final 2:07 of the quarter with a 13-0 run to lead 30-4 at the end of the first quarter. While the offensive production picked up for the Huskies in the second quarter with 27 points, they would give up another 30 points to the Mavericks as they trailed 60-31 at halftime. With the looks of a blowout in the making, the Huskies roared back in the third quarter as they opened the half on a 15-5 run to cut the lead under 20 with 6:46 remaining in the quarter. St. Cloud State continued to apply offensive pressure as a three-pointer by Kristi Kottke got the game under 10 points with 1:37 left in the quarter. Kottke drained another three with six seconds remaining in the quarter to set the score at 76-68 going into the fourth. St. Cloud State had an offensive explosion in the third quarter as they outscored Mankato 37-16 while making six threes and shooting 65% from the field. The momentum continued for the Huskies into the fourth as a layup by Kylan Gerads brought the Huskies within three-points. The teams traded buckets over the next few minutes as a three by Alana Zarneke again got the lead down to three points. The Mavericks were able to get a comfortable lead again as they pushed it back up to seven points with 2:36 left in the game. St. Cloud State would ultimately run out of gas late as they made two field goals in the final 3:32 of the game. Despite a resilient comeback attempt, the No. 10 Mavericks would go on to defeat St. Cloud State 96-87. Kylan Gerads led the Huskies in scoring with 22 points and 12 rebounds to go with three assists and two steals. Gerads shot 10/18 from the field. Alana Zarneke was the second Husky to score 20+ points as she tallied 21 points on 9/14 shooting while cash three three-pointers. She also totaled four assists and two rebounds and steals.

St. Cloud State Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Jada Eggebrecht (229-13.5)
Rebounds- Kylan Gerads (83-4.9)
Offensive rebounds- Kylan Gerads (38-2.2)
Assists- Alyssa Stamer (55-3.2)
Steals- Alana Zarneke (27-1.6)
Blocks- Paige Lambe (22-1.3)
Stocks- Alana Zarneke (41-2.4)
Field goals made- Jada Eggebrecht (85-5.0)
Three-point field goals made- Jada Eggebrecht/Alana Zarneke (30-1.8)
Free throw makes- Abigail O'Reilly (30-2.7)
Minutes- Jada Eggebrecht (537-31.6)

St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

68.1 points per game (7^th) | 66.5 points per game allowed (5^th) | 1.6 scoring margin (8^th)
42.5 field goal percentage (5^th) | 34.6 three-point percentage (4^th) | 71.5 free throw percentage (9^th)
42.4 opponent field goal percentage (13^th) | 32.8 opponent three-point percentage (11^th)
38.5 rebounds per game (7^th) | 12.5 offensive rebounds per game (4^th)
33.7 opponent rebounds per game (3^rd) | 4.8 rebounding margin (3^rd)
16.3 turnovers per game (12^th) | 15.7 turnovers forced per game (5^th) | -0.59 turnover margin (7^th)
3.59 blocks per game (7^th)
8.24 steals per game (5^th)
16.59 assists per game (2^nd)
6.8 three-point field goals made per game (8^th)

Raining Down History
Following this weekend where she knocked down five three-pointers, Jada Eggebrecht moved into the top 10 in program history in made three-pointers. With 120 made three-pointers, Eggebrecht is currently placed 10th. Over the next few weeks, Eggebrecht will continue to climb the leaderboard as Jessica Abrahams is ninth with 124 makes and Emily VanGorden is eighth with 127 makes.
The top 10 in three-point field goals made is as follows:

Tori Wortz 232
Betsy MacDonald 207
Shannon Francis 193
Sam Price 186
Sascha Hansen 185
Madelin Dammann 167
Teri Watkins 164
Emily VanGorden 127
Jessica Abrahams 124
Jada Eggebrecht 120

Eggebrecht is also closing in on 1,000 career points with 955 points. She is currently averaging 13.5 points. Eggebrecht would be the 36^th Husky in program history to score 1,000 career points.

Series History
Friday's game against Sioux Falls will be the 17th meeting between the programs with the Cougars holding a 9-8 advantage. St. Cloud State has won six of the past seven games against USF, but split their two games last season.

In Sioux Falls, St. Cloud State got off to a fast start, opening the game on a 7-2 run. The Cougars struck back with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to take an 11-7 lead. USF held that lead the rest of the quarter and ended the period with a 15-12 advantage. The Huskies battled back to start the second quarter as Jada Eggebrecht drained her second three-pointer of the game to knot the game at 19. Sioux Falls then started to take control, answering with a three-pointer of its own and went on a 10-0 run to take a 29-19 lead. St. Cloud State finished the quarter strong, ending the half on a 10-2 run. Morgan Draheim knocked down a three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining as SCSU trailed 34-32 at halftime. At the break, St. Cloud was shooting 34% from the field, but a blistering 46% from beyond the arc. 24 of Sioux Falls' 34 points came in the paint as they shot 57% from the field in the half. St. Cloud's three-point defense stifled the Cougars as they only made two of their seven three-point attempts. Sioux Falls began to take command of the game in the third quarter finding its groove beyond the arc. USF converted on three of their six three-point attempts in the period and outscored the Huskies 21-13, taking a 55-45 lead into the fourth quarter. SCSU outscored Sioux Falls 18-15 in the fourth quarter, but could not cut the deficit any smaller than seven points. Sioux Falls came away with a 70-63 win as its offense could not be stopped, shooting 59% from the field for the game.

At Halenbeck Hall the game tied at four points early before Jada Eggebrecht started to take over the game. She scored seven consecutive points for the Huskies as the team went on a 14-4 run. Eggebrecht, Morgan Draheim and Alana Zarneke all cashed home three-pointers as the Huskies took a 13-point lead. St. Cloud State held a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Opening the second quarter on a 7-2 run, St. Cloud State took an 18-point lead early in the quarter. The Cougars picked up their defensive intensity and held the Huskies to just two points over the final 7:15 of the half. During that time, USF's offense was aggressive attacking the paint and they ended the quarter on a 10-2 run taking a 29-19 deficit into halftime. After a great offensive start in the first quarter, the Huskies offense floundered as they were held to 3-of-13 shooting from the field and 0-of-7 from beyond the arc in the quarter. St. Cloud State's defense held the Cougars in check as they shot 26% from the field and 0-of-4 from three-point range. SCSU also forced Sioux Falls into nine first half turnovers.

The start of the third quarter saw the Cougars maintain their newly found momentum from the second quarter as they opened the frame on a 7-2 run to bring themselves within five points of the Huskies. A quick 5-0 run by St. Cloud State helped it gain some breathing room, but Sioux Falls did not let up, closing the final 2:44 of the quarter on a 9-0 run, including a three-pointer with four seconds left. After holding a 19-point lead earlier in the game, the Huskies only lead by a single point going into the fourth quarter.

St. Cloud State forced a turnover on the first offensive possession of the final quarter which led to a three-point make by Eggebrecht. The Cougars finished a layup on the ensuing possession to bring them back within two points. The teams traded misses before Eggebrecht came away with a defensive rebound, threw an outlet pass to Draheim, who dumped it down to Paige Lambe who finished the fastbreak layup. Dru Henning came away with a steal on the next possession and found Lambe rolling to the rim for another fastbreak layup for the Huskies. Sioux Falls missed their next jump shot as Draheim came away with the rebound and threw a beautiful halfcourt pass to Eggebrecht who finished the layup, giving the Huskies a 45-37 lead, forcing a Sioux Falls timeout. Out of the timeout, Sioux Falls was fouled and made both of its free throw attempts, but the Huskies one-upped the Cougars by making four free throws on their next two possessions. Jasmine Litt stole the ball and perfectly executed a two on one fastbreak, dishing the ball to Peschel who finished the fast break layup, giving the Huskies a 51-39 lead. St. Cloud State built that lead up to 16 points with 3:42 left in the game. Despite a 10-0 late run by Sioux Falls, the Huskies went on to win 58-49 for their seventh consecutive victory.

Saturday's game against Southwest Minnesota State will be the 62nd all-time meeting between the programs as the Huskies hold a 43-18 advantage. The teams faced off twice last year with each team winning on their home floor.

In Marshall, Minn. St. Cloud State jumped out to a fast start leading 8-4 after a three-pointer by Jada Eggebrecht. The Mustangs started to find their groove offensively, outscoring the Huskies 16-6 the rest of the quarter to lead 20-14. SMSU opened the flood gates in the second quarter, using a 21-3 run to build up a 22-point lead. SMSU led 44-26 at halftime after knocking down five three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. The Huskies defense had no answer for the Mustangs offense as they shot 54% from the field in the half. The second half produced similar results as the Mustangs outscored the Huskies 35-29 on their way to a commanding 79-55 victory. Southwest shot 54% from the field in the second half and forced the Huskies into 15 turnovers in the game.

At Halenbeck Hall, the first quarter back-and-forth as neither team was able to take more than a three-point lead. Trailing 10-7 with 5:13 left in the quarter, the Huskies commenced on a 10-1 run to take a 17-11 lead with 1:22 left in the quarter. During the run, senior forward Dru Henning and Jada Eggebrecht buried back-to-back three-pointers. SCSU's lead was cut down to just two points at the end of the period after SMSU's Sam Wall went on a 5-1 run in the final 69 seconds of the quarter. The Huskies pushed the lead back up to six points with a quick 4-0 run to start the second frame. St. Cloud State's defense held the Mustangs scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the quarter. Eventually SMSU found its footing as Wall and Bri Stoltzman knocked down consecutive three-point makes. A 6-1 run by the Huskies pushed its lead up to seven points with 2:30 left until halftime. St. Cloud State went scoreless in the final minutes as SMSU cut the lead down to four points after connecting on a three-pointer with two seconds remaining in the half. St. Cloud State went into halftime leading 30-26. St. Cloud State was sound shooting the ball in the first half – 40% from the field – but were hurt by seven turnovers leading to 12 points for the Mustangs. Defensively, the Huskies showed why they are one of the best defenses in the conference, holding the premiere offense of the Mustangs to 30% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc. The Huskies also forced the Mustangs into seven first half turnovers. The Huskies opened the third quarter with a 5-2 run as Ashley Sawicki knocked down a jumper and Henning cashed her second three-pointer of the game. SMSU counteracted the Huskies run with an 8-2 run of its own to bring them within a single point with 4:00 left in the third quarter. On the ensuing possession for the Huskies, Sawicki finished a right-handed layup while getting fouled to give St. Cloud State some breathing room. Sawicki converted the free throw to finish the and-one, giving the Huskies a four-point lead. The then-sophomore continued her dominance in the paint, forcing the Mustangs to foul her on consecutive scoring possessions. Sawicki made her next four free throws as she scored seven consecutive points for St. Cloud State. The Huskies built up an eight-point lead with 17 seconds remaining in the quarter after Eggebrecht finished an impossible circus layup. Wall answered by draining a three-pointer with three seconds left and SCSU led 46-41 going into the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs continued their hot shooting into the final quarter, draining back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Husky lead down to three points. Eggebrecht answered for SCSU, knocking down a three-pointer of her own to push the Husky lead back up to six points. At the 6:30 mark of the quarter, Maddie Thorfinnson of SMSU made a layup to bring the Mustangs within four points, but that was the final field goal of the game for SMSU. St. Cloud State's defense shined again as the Mustangs missed their final seven shots and were forced into three turnovers. Offensively, the Huskies were relentless attacking the rim in the final minutes and made all six of their free throw attempts to earn a 61-51 victory.

Scouting Sioux Falls
The Sioux Falls Cougars come into this matchup holding a 10-9 record with a 6-6 record in conference play. The Cougars have won four of their past five games with the loss coming to Northern State on Saturday. In the preseason coaches poll, Sioux Falls was projected to finish seventh in the conference following a 2023-24 campaign where they went 9-18 with a 7-15 conference record. They qualified for the NSIC Tournament where they were defeated 69-73 against Minnesota Duluth.

Kami Wadsworth leads the Cougars this season with a 16.4 scoring average while shooting 44% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. She is also grabbing 4.5 rebounds and dishing out 2.3 assists. Alexis Rose is the only other Cougar to score in double-digits as she averages 10.6 points per game. Rose is shooting 42.8% from the field and 41.5% from three. She also totals 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals.

Head Coach Travis Traphagen enters his 18th season with Sioux Falls in the 2024-25 season. Traphagen has totaled a 294-183 record during his tenure and has six 20+ win seasons with the Cougars.

Sioux Falls Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Kami Wadsworth (311-16.4)
Rebounds- Abi Phipps (122-6.4)
Offensive rebounds- Abi Phipps (35-1.8)
Assists- Ayla Brown (68-3.8)
Steals- Ayla Brown (36-2.0)
Blocks- Abi Phipps (10-0.5)
Stocks- Ayla Brown (37-2.1)
Field goals made- Kami Wadsworth (107-5.6)
Three-point field goals made- Megan Fannin (30-1.6)
Free throw makes- Kami Wadsworth (83-4.4)
Minutes- Kami Wadsworth (568-29.9)

Sioux Falls Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

64.3 points per game (4^th) | 68.1 points per game allowed (8^th) | 6.2 scoring margin (5^th)
42.7 field goal percentage (4^th) | 36.7 three-point percentage (2^nd) | 76.0 free throw percentage (4^th)
41.0 opponent field goal percentage (7^th) | 31.8 opponent three-point percentage (8^th)
36.5 rebounds per game (10^th) | 10.5 offensive rebounds per game (9^th)
33.6 opponent rebounds per game (2^nd) | 2.9 rebounding margin (7^th)
14.6 turnovers per game (6^th) | 15.2 turnovers forced per game (6^th) | 0.58 turnover margin (3^rd)
1.95 blocks per game (12^th)
7.95 steals per game (6^th)
14.68 assists per game (7^th)
8.3 three-point field goals made per game (2^nd)

Scouting Southwest Minnesota State
The Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs come into this matchup ranked as the No. 23 team in the country via the WBCA Poll. They hold a 16-2 record with a 10-2 mark in conference play. The two losses for the Mustangs have come against Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State who are the only teams ranked higher than the Mustangs in the conference. SMSU was projected to finish fourth in the NSIC after going 19-12 with a 15-7 conference record. SMSU received a bye to the NSIC Quarterfinals where they defeated Northern State, but lost to Minnesota State in the semifinals.

SMSU is led by Bri Stolzman who was honored with WBCA National Player of the Week along with NSIC Player of the Week after averaging 31.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 3.5 steals. In their win against Northern State this past weekend, Stolzman scored 41 points. On the year, she is averaging 18.8 points while shooting 56.1% from the field and 39% from three. Stolzman is grabbing 6.2 rebounds, dishing 4.3 three, and nabbing 1.8 steals. Three other Mustangs score in double-figures in Peyton Blandin, Audrey Swanson, and Natalie Nielsen. Blandin is averaging 16.2 points on 47.5% from the field and 37.8% from three. Swanson nearly averages a double-double with 13.8 points and 8.9 rebounds. Nielsen is scoring 10.9 points on 60.5% from the field while totaling 2.9 stocks per game.

Head Coach Tom Webb enters his ninth season with SMSU in the 2024-25 season. Webb has totaled a 112-116 record during his tenure and has exceeded 19 wins each of the past two years.

Southwest Minnesota State Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Bri Stoltzman (320-18.8)
Rebounds- Audrey Swanson (161-8.9)
Offensive rebounds- Natalie Nielsen (54-3.0)
Assists- Bri Stolzman (73-4.3)
Steals- Bri Stolzman (31-1.8)
Blocks- Natalie Nielsen (31-1.7)
Stocks- Natalie Nielsen (53-2.9)
Field goals made- Bri Stolzman (125-7.4)
Three-point field goals made- Peyton Blandin (42-2.3)
Free throw makes- Bri Stolzman (54-3.2)
Minutes- Peyton Blandin (534-29.7)

Southwest Minnesota State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

84.6 points per game (2^nd) | 65.9 points per game allowed (4^th) | 18.7 scoring margin (1^st)
48.0 field goal percentage (1^st) | 37.7 three-point percentage (1^st) | 77.3 free throw percentage (2^nd)
37.9 opponent field goal percentage (2^nd) | 24.5 opponent three-point percentage (1^st)
42.9 rebounds per game (1^st) | 11.7 offensive rebounds per game (6^th)
35.4 opponent rebounds per game (4^th) | 7.5 rebounding margin (2^nd)
14.4 turnovers per game (5^th) | 13.9 turnovers forced per game (10^th) | -0.50 turnover margin (6^th)
3.44 blocks per game (9^th)
7.28 steals per game (8^th)
15.44 assists per game (5^th)
8.7 three-point field goals made per game (1^st)

SMSU will face off against Bemidji State on Friday before taking on 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.