St. Cloud State Women’s Basketball Take to the Road for Playoff Push

St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Women's Basketball (11-12, 8-10 NSIC) continue their playoff push as they travel to Wayne State on Friday, February 14 and then to Augustana on Saturday, February 15. Friday's game is set for 7:30 p.m. while Saturday's game will tipoff at 5:30 p.m.

Follow the Huskies
Both games will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network. Live Stats will be provided by Wayne State on Friday and then by Augustana on Saturday. Both games will also be 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 had an away and home game last week as they traveled to UMary and then hosted Minot State.

Wednesday's game against UMary saw the Huskies score on their first two possessions of the game to take a 4-0 lead before the Marauders went on an 8-0 run. UMary extended their lead up to eight points after making a corner three, but Rachel Kottke was able to weather the storm with a three-pointer of her own. The Marauders kept expanding the lead as a buzzer beating three-pointer by Anna Lenzen put UMary up 23-13 at the end of the first quarter. The offense for UMary continued to hum as they pushed the lead up to 17 with 6:51 remaining until halftime. The Huskies started gather some momentum as back-to-back threes by Kristi Kottke and Alana Zarneke forced a timeout. Coming out of that timeout, the Marauders got back on track with an 11-3 run to push the lead up to 19 with 2:50 left until halftime. For the second straight quarter, UMary ended the quarter on a buzzer beater as a layup by Bergan Kinnebrew gave the Marauders a 48-26 lead going into halftime. The second half garnered similar results as St. Cloud State trailed by as many as 31 points as they would ultimately be defeated 83-57. Rachel Kottke paced the Huskies in scoring as she tallied 13 points on 5/10 shooting with three made three-pointers. She also totaled five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. This was her fifth game scoring 13+ points and seventh game with 3+ made threes. Reagan Briggs scored five points and grabbed seven rebounds while nabbing two steals. This was her fourth game with 7+ rebounds and 10th multi-steal game.

The first quarter against Minot State saw the Huskies jump out to an early 9-3 lead three minutes into the game as Kristi Kottke splashed a long two. The Beavers worked their way back to only trail by a single point following a 8-3 run with 4:28 left in the quarter. The defense for the Huskies stepped up as they held Minot State scoreless the remainder of the quarter to ultimately lead 16-11. The second quarter saw the teams battle back-and-forth with the Huskies holding a 20-17 lead at the 6:38 remaining in the half. St. Cloud State defensively again stepped up as the Beavers could only manage three points and one made field goal, which came with seven seconds left, the rest of the half. During that time, an 8-0 run by SCSU propelled them to a 30-19 lead which ultimately turned into a 30-21 halftime lead after the layup by Minot State. The lead was steadily held by the Huskies coming out of halftime for the entirety of the third quarter. Leading by 6+ points for the quarter, St. Cloud State would end the quarter with a bang as Kylan Gerads knocked down a pair of free throws to put SCSU up 47-35 with eight seconds remaining. The free throws by Gerads were in the midst of a 5-0 run. That run quickly turned into an 8-0 as Alana Zarneke came away with an inbounds steal where she hit Kristi Kottke in the slot to cash a three as the Huskies would go into the fourth quarter leading 50-35. Kottke cashed another three to open the fourth quarter for the Huskies, extending the lead to 18 points. The Huskies ultimately led the entirety of the fourth quarter by 9+ points as they would go on to win 72-62 for their 11th win of the season. Controlling the glass was a key component in the win as SCSU snagged 19 offensive rebounds leading to 20 second chance points. They would ultimately outrebound the Beavers by 13. Kylan Gerads had a career game as she tallied her third career double-double with 22 points (tying her career-high) and a career-high of 13 rebounds. Nine of those rebounds came on the offensive end, which was also a career-high. Gerads shot 50% from the field and went 8/8 from the free throw line. Kristi Kottke nearly notched a double-double with 13 points and a career-high eight rebounds. She shot 5/9 from the field while tying her career-high in three-point makes with three. She also collected a steal and block. This was her fourth game scoring 10+ points this season.

St. Cloud State Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Jada Eggebrecht (293-12.7)
Rebounds- Kylan Gerads (124-5.4)
Offensive rebounds- Kylan Gerads (60-2.6)
Assists- Alyssa Stamer (64-2.9)
Steals- Alana Zarneke (35-1.5)
Blocks- Paige Lambe (30-1.3)
Stocks- Alana Zarneke (53-2.3)
Field goals made- Jada Eggebrecht (109-4.7)
Three-point field goals made- Alana Zarneke (39-1.7)
Free throw makes- Kylan Gerads (45-2.0)
Minutes- Jada Eggebrecht (712-31.0)

St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

66.7 points per game (8^th) | 67.7 points per game allowed (8^th) | -1.0 scoring margin (7^th)
40.6 field goal percentage (6^th) | 33.0 three-point percentage (5^th) | 73.5 free throw percentage (6^th)
42.6 opponent field goal percentage (13^th) | 32.2 opponent three-point percentage (12^th)
38.3 rebounds per game (7^th) | 12.4 offensive rebounds per game (4^th)
35.1 opponent rebounds per game (4^th) | 3.2 rebounding margin (7^th)
15.7 turnovers per game (11^th) | 15.7 turnovers forced per game (5^th) | 0.0 turnover margin (6^th)
3.61 blocks per game (7^th)
8.39 steals per game (5^th)
16.26 assists per game (3^rd)
6.7 three-point field goals made per game (9^th)

Playoff Push
With two weeks left in the regular season, the Huskies will be looking to make a playoff push to solidify their place in the standings. The top four seeds in the standings receive a bye to the Stanford Pentagon, teams seeded 5-8 will host a first round playoff game, and teams seed 9-12 will travel to the corresponding host. St. Cloud State is currently eighth in the NSIC Standings.

The full NSIC Standings are as follows:

Concordia-St. Paul: 22-2, 16-2 NSIC
Southwest Minnesota State: 22-2, 16-2
Minnesota State: 19-5, 15-3
Northern State: 15-9, 12-6
UMary: 13-9, 10-8
Sioux Falls: 14-11, 10-8
MSU Moorhead: 12-12, 8-8
St. Cloud State: 11-12, 8-10
Wayne State: 10-12, 7-11
Minnesota Crookston: 9-15, 7-11
Minot State: 8-17, 7-11
Winona State: 9-15, 5-13
Minnesota Duluth: 7-16, 5-13
Augustana: 6-18, 4-14
Bemidji State: 5-17, 3-15

All stats and standings accumulated February 11

Series History
Friday's game against Wayne State will be the 26th all-time meeting between the programs with St. Cloud State trailing 11-14 in the series. Despite the deficit, the Huskies have won five consecutive games against the Wildcats including their matchup earlier in the season.

The game started with both teams thriving on the defensive end as the Huskies held a 3-2 lead at the 5:39 mark of the quarter after a three by Reagan Briggs. The offense started to come around for both teams as 19 points were scored in the final 3:42 of the quarter. Wayne State led 14-10 after Maya Fitzpatrick made a buzzer beating layup. The second quarter flashed similarities to the opening frame as it was a defensive battle. The Wildcats did not make their first field goal until the 4:37 mark of the quarter as the Huskies held a narrow one-point lead. Following their initial bucket, SCSU started to grow their lead as a jumper by Halle Vande Hey and a three-pointer by Alana Zarneke gave them a six-point lead. The Wildcats seized momentum at the end of the half as they closed the quarter on a 7-3 run. Despite the late run, St. Cloud State led 26-24 at halftime. Coming out of the break, St. Cloud State started to take control of the game as an 8-2 gave them an early 34-26 lead. SCSU continued to balloon their lead as Kylan Gerads capped off an 11-0 with a layup to give St. Cloud State a 47-29 lead. The Wildcats started to cut into the lead, but Kristi Kottke ended the quarter on a 5-0 run as SCSU led 54-37 going into the final frame. St. Cloud State outscored the Wildcats 28-13 in the third quarter. Wayne State would not go away quietly as a 10-2 run forced a Huskies timeout at the 6:47 mark as WSC was back within single digits. The Huskies worked the lead back up to double-digits as they led 64-54 with 2:24 left in the game. From that point, Wayne State made a ferocious comeback as they ramped up their defensive pressure and used a 6-0 run to now only trail by four points with 41 seconds remaining. St. Cloud State would call a timeout as they would drain clock before Jada Eggebrecht was fouled with 27 seconds left. Eggebrecht shooting 96.2% from the line this season was automatic and gave St. Cloud State a six point lead. The Wildcats called a timeout of their own and quickly finished a layup to trail 62-66 with 22 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, the Huskies again drained clock before a WSC foul. Briggs split a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining before the Wildcats drained a three with seven seconds left. After the make, Zarneke would be fouled with one second remaining as SCSU led 67-65. She would split the pair of free throws, making the second attempt. Needing a three pointer and to go the full length of the court, the Wildcats inbounded but were unable to get a shot up as St. Cloud State held off the Wildcats in a 68-65 victory. Kristi Kottke had a career game as she scored 12 points on a perfect 5/5 shooting while making both of her three-point attempts. Kottke also tallied three rebounds and an assist and steal. The points, field goals made, and three-pointers made were all career highs. Kylan Gerads notched her first career double-double as she scored 10 point and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. This was the third straight game that Gerads has scored in double-figures.

Saturday's game against Augustana will be the 71st matchup between the programs with the Vikings holding a 37-34 advantage. In the matchup earlier this season, the Huskies came up with a win at Halenbeck Hall.

Augustana held a modest five-point lead at the 6:07 mark of the first quarter as they led 11-6. The Vikings steadily held that lead for most of the quarter, but a three-pointer by Jada Eggebrecht with seven seconds left set the score at 19-20. That three-pointer by Eggebrecht sparked the Huskies offense as back-to-back three-pointers by Rachel Kottke and Alana Zarneke gave SCSU a nine-point lead with 3:58 left in the half. The offense continued to hum late the rest of the half as a 30-point quarter by the Huskies gave them a 49-40 lead going into the break. The second quarter saw St. Cloud State make six three-pointers in the frame and that hot shooting continued into the second half. While the offense continued to click, the defense ramped up as the Vikings made their first field goal of the half at the 5:47 mark of the third quarter as SCSU led by 15 points. From that first inagural bucket, the Vikings had new life as they ramped up their defensive intensity as a 10-3 run brought them within 10 points. Despite the new energy, St. Cloud State responded with a 7-2 run to end the quarter as Kylan Gerads finished a layup with eight seconds left to put St. Cloud State back up by 15 points. The Vikings never came within 10 points for the fourth quarter as the Huskies picked up their first win of 2025 with an 81-70 win against Augustana. St. Cloud State made a season-high 14 threes on an efficient 41.2%.

Scouting Wayne State
The Wayne State College Wildcats enter this matchup with the Huskies holding a 10-12 record with a 7-11 mark in conference play. The Wildcats have lost five of their past six games with the lone win coming against Augustana. WSC came into this season projected to finish 13th in the NSIC after going 7-18 with a 4-18 conference record last season. The Wildcats did not qualify for the NSIC Tournament.

Three Wildcats score in double figures in Maya Fitzpatrick, Kylah vanDonkersgoed, and Tate Norblade. Fitzpatrick leads the trio with 13.4 points on 35.6% shooting from the field. She is also grabbing 4.5 rebounds, totaling 3.0 stocks, and dishing out 2.8 assists. vanDonkergoed sits at 11.7 points per game to go with a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game. Norblade is the final Wildcat is double figures with 10.2 points per game on 45.9% from the field and 42.9% from three. She is also totaling 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.6 steals.

Head Coach Brent Pollari enters his seventh season with the Wildcats in the 2024-25 season. Pollari has totaled a 64-87 record with a 42-80 conference record in his tenure.

Wayne State will Southwest Minnesota State on Tuesday before playing the Huskies on Friday.

Wayne State Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Maya Fitzpatrick (295-13.4)
Rebounds- Kylah vanDonkersgoed (116-5.3)
Offensive rebounds- Kylah vanDonkersgoed (32-1.5)
Assists- Maya Fitzpatrick (61-2.8)
Steals- Maya Fitzpatrick (40-1.8)
Blocks- Maya Fitzpatrick (27-1.2)
Stocks- Maya Fitzpatrick (67-3.0)
Field goals made- Maya Fitzpatrick (98-4.5)
Three-point field goals made- Delaney Clark (47-2.1)
Free throw makes- Tate Norblade (82-3.7)
Minutes- Tate Norblade (775-35.2)

Wayne State Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

65.6 points per game (9^th) | 67.5 points per game allowed (7^th) | -1.9 scoring margin (8^th)
39.3 field goal percentage (9^th) | 33.9 three-point percentage (4^th) | 71.7 free throw percentage (8^th)
40.5 opponent field goal percentage (7^th) | 31.4 opponent three-point percentage (7^th)
36.1 rebounds per game (11^th) | 8.8 offensive rebounds per game (13^th)
39.2 opponent rebounds per game (11^th) | -3.0 rebounding margin (11^th)
15.3 turnovers per game (9^th) | 13.6 turnovers forced per game (10^th) | -1.64 turnover margin (11^th)
4.64 blocks per game (2^nd)
6.68 steals per game (9^th)
14.14 assists per game (7^th)
6.9 three-point field goals made per game (8^th)

Scouting Augustana
The Augustana Vikings come into this game against the Huskies holding a 6-18 record with a 4-14 mark in conference play. The Vikings are currently in the midst of a two-game winning streak after taking game from Winona State and Minnesota Duluth. Coming into this season, Augustana was projected to finish 11th after going 7-20 with a 6-16 mark in conference play. The Vikings reached the conference tournament where their season would end in Marshall, Minn. following a 93-85 loss against Southwest Minnesota State.

This season, Vikings hold two double-digit scorers in Hannah Burg and Olivia Hayenga who average 12.1 and 11.7 points respectively. Burg is shooting 42.7% from the field and 34.8% from three to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Hayenga shoots 41.5% from the field and is grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game. She is also leads the team in stocks with 2.3 per game.

The offseason saw the Vikings make a coaching change after moving on from first year Head Coach Jillian Flores Bennett. Augustana hired Nate Vogel who came from Texas A&M International. Vogel inherited an 0-27 squad in the 2019-20 season and by the end of his tenure had produced a team that was nationally ranked while tallying a 25-7 record.

Augustana Statistical Leaders (total-average)

Points- Hannah Burg (291-12.1)
Rebounds- Payton Hardy (138-5.8)
Offensive rebounds- Payton Hardy (33-1.4)
Assists- Hannah Burg (82-3.4)
Steals- Olivia Hayenga (43-1.8)
Blocks- Olivia Hayenga (12-0.5)
Stocks- Olivia Hayenga (55-2.3)
Field goals made- Olivia Hayenga (107-4.5)
Three-point field goals made- Olivia Hayenga (28-1.2)
Free throw makes- Hannah Burg (56-2.3)
Minutes- Hannah Burg (810-33.8)

Augustana Team Stats (NSIC Ranking)

61.0 points per game (14^th) | 72.6 points per game allowed (13^th) | -11.7 scoring margin (15^th)
38.4 field goal percentage (13^th) | 29.3 three-point percentage (13^th) | 66.6 free throw percentage (15^th)
42.7 opponent field goal percentage (15^th) | 31.7 opponent three-point percentage (8^th)
34.0 rebounds per game (13^th) | 10.2 offensive rebounds per game (8^th)
41.3 opponent rebounds per game (13^th) | -7.3 rebounding margin (15^th)
17.0 turnovers per game (15^th) | 17.3 turnovers forced per game (3^rd) | 0.33 turnover margin (4^th)
2.38 blocks per game (10^th)
9.92 steals per game (3^rd)
12.0 assists per game (12^th)
5.5 three-point field goals made per game (12^th)

Augustana will play Sioux Falls on Tuesday and then 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.