Huskies Fall 77-69 in Overtime Battle Against No. 15 Northern Michigan

Thursday, November 20

Marquette, MI

4:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

2-1,0-0NSIC

#15 Northern Michigan

6-0,0-0GLIAC

OT 1

St. Cloud St.

Northern Mich.

Huskies Fall 77-69 in Overtime Battle Against No. 15 Northern Michigan

11/20/2025 7:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SCSU drops first game of the season

Marquette, MI. – St. Cloud State Women's Basketball (2-1) dropped their first game of the season as they were defeated 77-69 in overtime against No. 15 Northern Michigan. SCSU was outscored 24-11 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The first quarter started slowly for St. Cloud State as they did not score their first points of the game until the 6:32 mark. Abigail O'Reilly came in off the bench and gave the Huskies a shot in the arm as she scored eight of the first 13 points for St. Cloud State. A free throw line jumper by O'Reilly gave SCSU a 13-12 lead with 2:35 left in the first. The teams traded buckets in the final few minutes as Northern Michigan led 16-15 after one. The start of the second quarter carried over from the first as neither team could get much separation from the other. The Huskies would build up an eight-point lead following a layup by Alana Zarneke. The off-ball cuts and screening for SCSU led to consistent shot attempts at the rim all game which the Huskies capitalized on. NMU would respond with back-to-back threes to bring the lead down to two. St. Cloud State ultimately closed out the half on a 7-0 run in part to a long two from Kristi Kottke, a wing three from Zarneke, and two free throws with a second left by O'Reilly. The Huskies took to the halftime break with a 38-32 lead following a 14- and 12-point half from O'Reilly and Zarneke.

Coming out of the break, the Huskies blitzed the Wildcats as they turned defense into transition offense. A steal and score by Kristi Kottke capped off a 10-3 run to open the half as NMU called a timeout with SCSU leading 48-35. The Huskies pushed their lead up to 15 points, but an 8-0 run by Northern Michigan led to a timeout for SCSU. NMU did not shy away from the three-point line as they made big time threes to continue cutting into the lead. St. Cloud State held onto their lead despite the threes by the Wildcats and went into the fourth quarter holding a 58-53 lead. Moving into the fourth quarter, the Huskies would not make a field goal until the 4:18 mark of the fourth as Northern Michigan ramped up their defensive pressure. In need of a bucket, Rachel Kottke finished a tough layup as the shot clock expired to give St. Cloud State a 63-60 lead with 2:32 remaining. Northern Michigan came away with multiple offensive rebounds on their ensuing possession and connected on a deep three to tie the game. Each team was unable to score throughout their remaining possessions as the game headed into overtime. With three seconds left on a side-out, the Wildcats nearly scored as Sarah Newcomer curled off into the paint for a wide-open layup on a set play. Newcomer would score a layup, but time clearly expired before she could get the shot up as extra basketball pursued.

The Huskies came out strong to start the overtime period as Paige Lambe finished a layup from the post to start the scoring. O'Reilly knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Huskies up three. The Wildcats again responded with a three which tied the game. The ensuing possession saw Zarneke splash a pull-up jumper to retake the lead for SCSU. That jumper by Zarneke would ultimately be the final points of the game for the Huskies. A three and multiple key buckets and stops by Northern Michigan would seal their fate as St. Cloud State would fall 77-69 against the fifteenth ranked Wildcats.

Top Huskies

Abigail O'Reilly nearly notched a double-double with an efficient 19 points (7/12) and eight rebounds. She also made five of her six free throw attempts.
Alana Zarneke led the Huskies in scoring with 22 points. She also tacked on three rebounds and steals and two assists. Zarneke has had 3+ steals in every game to start the season.
Kristi Kottke also nearly compiled a double-double with eight points and rebounds. Kottke shot 4/7 from the field to go with two assists and steals.

Notables

St. Cloud State is now 8-4 all-time against Northern Michigan and have lost two straight games in the series.
The Huskies led the game in field goal percentage (45.3-38.6), rebounds (25-18), blocks (3-0), points in the paint (34-18), and bench points (27-19).
Paige Lambe was the final Husky to score in double figures as she totaled 11 points (5/8), three rebounds and stocks, and two assists.
Rachel Kottke tallied four points, six rebounds, and two assists.
Jada Eggebrecht scored five points and grabbed four rebounds.
Brynn Olson recorded three rebounds and assists.

Up Next
St. Cloud State be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they take on Michigan Tech at 4:30 p.m. in Houghton, Michigan.

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.