St. Cloud State Women’s Basketball to Play Beavers and Dragons in Home and Road Games

St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Women's Basketball (10-9, 7-7 NSIC) look to snap their three-game losing streak as they host Bemidji State on Tuesday, January 28 and then travel to MSU Moorhead on Saturday, February 1. Tuesday'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 Tuesday's game are available at scsutickets.com. Live stats will be provided by St. Cloud State on Tuesday and then by MSU Moorhead 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 both the audio broadcast and livestream for both games.

Last Time Out
The Huskies returned home this past weekend following their four-game road trip to face off against Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State.

Friday's game against Sioux Falls saw the Huskies get off to a slow start as they trailed 7-3 with 6:38 left in the quarter after Jada Eggebrecht drilled a three to put SCSU on the board. A three-pointer by Rachel Kottke capped off the 8-2 run for the Huskies where they would only trail by a single point. The teams battled for the next few minutes before Sioux Falls started to take control as they closed the quarter on a 6-0 run. The Cougars expanded the lead to eight points early in the second quarter to take a 19-11 lead. The Huskies ramped up their defense for the next four minutes as Sioux Falls would be held scoreless. During that time frame, SCSU used that defense to fuel quick offense as the game would be tied at 19 apiece. With a rejuvenated offense, St. Cloud State looked to take control after Alana Zarneke splashed a three to put the Huskies up five with 2:42 left in the half. The Huskies held firm that lead as Kylan Gerads snatched an offensive rebound and putback a layup with two seconds left until halftime. St. Cloud State now led 30-25 going into the break. Coming out of the break, the Huskies continued to hold a steady lead as Eggebrecht cashed a three to put SCSU up six points. From that point, Sioux Falls got hot from three as they made five of their next six three-point attempts to now lead 50-45. The Cougars went into the fourth quarter leading 56-48 after Kami Wadsworth finished a layup with one second remaining. The Huskies battled throughout the fourth quarter as they never let go of the rope. Zarneke capped off a 7-0 for the Huskies with a three as the game would be tied at 63 with 2:54 remaining. Sioux Falls then commenced on a 4-0 to lead 67-63 with 1:43 left in the game. St. Cloud State did not make a field goal until 25 seconds left as Rachel Kottke stole the ball which led to a fast break layup by Paige Lambe. That would be the last field goal the Huskies made in the game as Sioux Falls made four of their final six free throw to close out the game. Sioux Falls ultimately defeated SCSU 71-65. The Huskies would shoot 34.3% from the field and 28.6% from three. Rachel Kottke nearly notched a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds to go along with five steals. Kottke also made two three-pointers which she has done seven times this season. Alana Zarneke paced the Huskies in scoring with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three stocks, and three three-point makes. This was the fifth game where Zarneke has drained 3+ threes and eighth game with 3+ stocks.

The game against SMSU started slow offensively for both teams as the Mustangs led 5-4 with 4:22 left in the first quarter after a layup by Rachel Kottke. SMSU started to find their groove as they led 11-6 with 1:36 left in the quarter. To end the quarter, St. Cloud State used a 6-0 run with a three-pointer by Jada Eggebrecht and an and-one by Kylan Gerads to lead 12-11 going into the second frame. The defense shined for both teams in the second quarter as neither team exceeded 12 points. The teams battled back and forth as no team held a lead more than a single possession. The game would be tied at 23 headed into the break. Coming out of the break, the Mustangs started to find their offense as they opened the half on a 10-0 run to lead 33-23 two minutes into the half. St. Cloud State never let the game get out of hand as they trailed 46-41 headed into the fourth after Eggebrecht finished an and-one layup. Two early buckets by SMSU pushed the lead back up to nine points, halting the Huskies momentum. SCSU continued to battle late as a three by Alana Zarneke cut the lead to three points with 5:59 remaining in the game. On their offensive possession, the Mustangs answered with a three of their own. That three started a 9-4 run for SMSU as an and-one layup by Audrey Swanson pushed the lead to eight points. SCSU cut the lead down to five, but would run out of gas as they would be defeated 73-57 against No. 23 Southwest Minnesota State. Reagan Briggs paced the Huskies in scoring with a career-high 13 points to go along with six rebounds, and four assists. Briggs also shot 60% from the field. This was her eighth game grabbing 6+ rebounds. Alana Zarneke also scored 13 points while knocking down three three-pointers. She also grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists. This was her sixth game cashing 3+ threes and has done so in three consecutive games.

St. Cloud State Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Jada Eggebrecht (250-13.2)
Rebounds- Alana Zarneke (91-4.8)
Offensive rebounds- Kylan Gerads (42-2.2)
Assists- Alyssa Stamer (56-2.9)
Steals- Alana Zarneke (29-1.5)
Blocks- Paige Lambe (25-1.3)
Stocks- Alana Zarneke (47-2.3)
Field goals made- Jada Eggebrecht (92-4.8)
Three-point field goals made- Jada Eggebrecht/Alana Zarneke (36-1.9)
Free throw makes- Jada Eggebrecht (32-1.7)
Minutes- Jada Eggebrecht (600-31.6)

St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)
67.4 points per game (8^th) | 67.1 points per game allowed (7^th) | 0.3 scoring margin (8^th)
41.4 field goal percentage (6^th) | 34.0 three-point percentage (4^th) | 71.9 free throw percentage (7^th)
42.7 opponent field goal percentage (13^th) | 33.5 opponent three-point percentage (13^th)
37.8 rebounds per game (8^th) | 12.2 offensive rebounds per game (3^rd)
34.9 opponent rebounds per game (4^th) | 2.8 rebounding margin (7^th)
15.7 turnovers per game (9^th) | 16.2 turnovers forced per game (4^th) | 0.53 turnover margin (3^rd)
3.63 blocks per game (7^th)
8.47 steals per game (4^th)
16.53 assists per game (3^rd)
6.7 three-point field goals made per game (8^th)

Raining Down History
Following this weekend where she knocked down four three-pointers, Jada Eggebrecht is now tied for ninth place in moved in made three-pointers with 124. 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 124

Eggebrecht is also closing in on 1,000 career points with 976 points. She is currently averaging 13.2 points. Eggebrecht would be the 36^th Husky in program history to score 1,000 career points.

Series History
Tuesday's game against Bemidji State will be the 71st meeting between the programs with the Huskies holding a 51-19 advantage. The teams matched up earlier in the season where the Beavers came away victorious.

Despite the Beavers holding a five-point lead early in the first quarter, the teams went back-and-forth as BSU held a 18-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was when the Beavers started to take control of the game as a 15-5 run over the final seven minutes of the half gave BSU a 39-26 lead going into the break. St. Cloud State had over a five-minute drought between field goals during the run, but a layup by Alyssa Stamer with three seconds left in the half gave the Huskies a little momentum. Coming out of the break, the Huskies started to find their offensive groove as Kylan Gerads finished in the paint to cap off a 14-2 run, bringing SCSU within one-point. The Huskies continued to battle with the Beavers as back-to-back three-pointers by Jada Eggebrecht and Stamer again brought SCSU within a single-point. The Beavers stabilized over the final 1:13 of the quarter as they would lead 56-52 going into the final frame. In the fourth quarter, a three-pointer by Alana Zarneke at the 7:03 mark gave St. Cloud State their first lead of the game as the score was set a 61-58. The teams traded blows the rest of the way as Bemidji State led 73-69 after converting an and-one with 56 seconds left. In need of a bucket, Gerads came up with a big offensive rebound and then put it back up while getting fouled. She converted the and-one opportunity to bring the Huskies within a point with 45 seconds remaining. BSU finished a layup on their offensive possession to go back up three-points with 16 seconds remaining. St. Cloud State would go to Eggebrecht to tie the game on their possession, but an offensive foul on a moving screen prevented her from getting up a shot. The Huskies fouled the Beavers and they made both of their free throw attempts to go up five points with 14 seconds left. Now in dire need of a score, Eggebrecht knocked in a long two to bring the Huskies within three points. Bemidji State then went 1/2 at the free throw line after SCSU fouled to go up four. St. Cloud State would turn the ball over on their final possession as they would ultimately lose 78-74 to Bemidji State. Jada Eggebrecht scored a season-high 27 points on an efficient 9/15 shooting. Eggebrecht also cashed four three-pointers on eight attempts. This was her second game scoring 20+ points this season. Paige Lambe set a career-high in points with 16 while making a career-high six free throws. Lambe shot 5/9 from the field while grabbing four rebounds.

Saturday's game against MSU Moorhead will be the 68th all-time meeting between the teams with the Huskies holding a 36-31 series advantage. The teams faced off at Halenbeck Hall earlier in the season where the Dragons won the game.

The Huskies offense in the first quarter was unable to find a rhythm as they were held to 3/16 shooting and recorded a four-minute stretch where they were unable to make a field goal. Despite the shooting woes, SCSU only found themselves down 17-13 heading into the second quarter after going 7/8 from the free throw line. The Huskies were unable to get going in the second quarter as they shot 4/14 from the field for 11 points. St. Cloud State stayed solid defensively as they kept within striking distance as they held the Dragons to 15 points and went into halftime trailing 32-24. MSUM would push that lead up to 12 with a 4-0 run in the third quarter, but Alana Zarneke knocked down a three-pointer as St. Cloud State began to makes its run. The tandem of Kylan Gerads and Abigail O'Reilly scored the next eight points for the Huskies as a layup by Gerads, assisted by O'Reilly, cut the Dragon lead down to four with 4:33 left in the third quarter. Moorhead would not be fazed by the Huskies' new momentum as they closed the half on a 9-4 run to lead 48-39 going into the final period. The offense began to click for SCSU in the fourth as a layup by O'Reilly cut the Dragon lead down to three points with 6:10 remaining. St. Cloud State continued to fight in the fourth as a jumper by Jada Eggebrecht again brought them within three points with 5:15 left. The Dragons would score on their next two possessions as they pushed the lead back up to seven points. St. Cloud State would get within five points late in the game, but MSUM sealed the game late by making three of their four free throw attempts with 25 seconds remaining as they defeated St. Cloud State 63-55. The Huskies would shoot 35% from the field for the game and 14% from beyond the arc. Alana Zarneke led the Huskies in scoring with a then season-high of 15 points on 6/10 shooting. She also grabbed five rebounds for the fourth consecutive game while tallying three stocks. She has recorded 3+ stocks in four consecutive games. Jada Eggebrecht scored 11 points which was her fifth consecutive game scoring 11+ points. She also dished out three assists and nabbed two steals.

Scouting Bemidji State
The Bemidji State Beavers come into this matchup with the Huskies holding a 4-14 record with a 2-12 mark in conference play. BSU is currently in the midst of a six-game losing streak following losses to Mankato, Winona State, Duluth, Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota State, and Sioux Falls. Coming into this season, the Beavers were projected to finish 15^th in the NSIC after a 2023-24 campaign where they went 6-20 with a 3-19 record in conference play. The offseason saw the Beavers lose their lone All-Conference performer in Alyssa Hill who made Second Team All-Conference last year.

Tieryn Plasch is the team's leading scorer with 9.8 points per game on 42.4% from the field and 43.4% from three-point range. She also averages 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

Head Coach Chelsea Stoltenberg enters her 10^th season with Bemidji State in the 2024-25 season. In her nine year tenure, Stoltenberg has accumulated a 71-160 record with a 46-141 mark in conference play.

Bemidji State Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Tieryn Plasch (176-9.8)
Rebounds- Aubrey Heyer (89-4.3)
Offensive rebounds- Rachel Koenig (17-1.1)
Assists- Erin Barrette (47-2.6)
Steals- Erin Barrette (29-1.6)
Blocks- Ella Giorgi (21-1.2)
Stocks- Ella Giorgi (29-1.6)
Field goals made- Tieryn Plasch (59-3.3)
Three-point field goals made- Tieryn Plasch (43-2.4)
Free throw makes- Erin Barrette (31-1.7)
Minutes- Tieryn Plasch (551-30.6)

Bemidji State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

59.3 points per game (15^th) | 70.3 points per game allowed (11^th) | -11.0 scoring margin (13^th)
38.9 field goal percentage (11^th) | 28.9 three-point percentage (13^th) | 72.8 free throw percentage (8^th)
42.0 opponent field goal percentage (11^th) | 29.1 opponent three-point percentage (3^rd)
32.8 rebounds per game (15^th) | 6.4 offensive rebounds per game (15^th)
39.2 opponent rebounds per game (12^th) | -6.4 rebounding margin (13^th)
16.1 turnovers per game (12^th) | 12.3 turnovers forced per game (13^th) | -3.72 turnover margin (15^th)
3.72 blocks per game (6^th)
5.50 steals per game (13^th)
11.89 assists per game (11^th)
5.2 three-point field goals made per game (14^th)

Scouting Minnesota State Moorhead
The Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons come into this matchup holding a 9-11 record with a 7-7 mark in conference play. The Dragons are currently on a three-game win steak with victories coming against Winona State, Augustana, and Wayne State. Coming into this season, the MSU was projected to finish sixth in the NSIC after a 13-16 2023-24 season where they went 12-10 in conference play. The Dragons reached the NSIC quarterfinals after they beat Winona State, but their season ended at the hands of the eventual National Champion Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks.

The Dragons return their two All-Conference honorees from a season ago in Natalie Jens and Terryn Johnson. Jens is averaging 12.2 points per game while shooting 31.2% from the field and 30.5% from beyond the arc. She is also averaging 3.6 rebounds and a team-high 3.3 assists. Johnson is nearly averages a double-double with 10.5 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 53.5% from three.

Head Coach Karla Nelson enters her 25th season with the Dragons in the 2024-25 campaign. Nelson has seen sustained success with the program as she has guided them to 21 straight winning seasons and has an all-time record of 412-257. She is also a four-time NSIC Coach of the Year honoree with the most recent recognition coming in the 2018-19 season.

Minnesota State Moorhead Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Abby Berge (219-11.0)
Rebounds- Terryn Johnson (171-8.6)
Offensive rebounds- Terryn Johnson (61-3.1)
Assists- Ashton Safranski (60-3.0)
Steals- Ashton Safranski (50-2.5)
Blocks- Ashley Fritz/Terryn Johnson (8-0.4)
Stocks- Ashton Safranski (52-2.7)
Field goals made- Terryn Johnson (85-4.3)
Three-point field goals made- Natalie Jens (25-1.7)
Free throw makes- Abby Berge (68-3.4)
Minutes- Terryn Johnson (589-29.5)

Minnesota State Moorhead Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

61.1 points per game (12^th) | 64.8 points per game allowed (4^th) | -3.7 scoring margin (9^th)
35.8 field goal percentage (15^th) | 27.0 three-point percentage (15^th) | 68.8 free throw percentage (11^th)
40.8 opponent field goal percentage (7^th) | 32.8 opponent three-point percentage (11^th)
39.9 rebounds per game (5^th) | 12.7 offensive rebounds per game (2^nd)
35.2 opponent rebounds per game (5^th) | 4.7 rebounding margin (4^th)
15.8 turnovers per game (11^th) | 14.4 turnovers forced per game (8^th) | -1.35 turnover margin (11^th)
1.30 blocks per game (15^th)
7.65 steals per game (7^th)
11.95 assists per game (10^th)
5.9 three-point field goals made per game (11^th)

MSU Moorhead will take on Northern State on Thursday before facing 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.