Strong Defensive Second Half Propels Huskies to the Quarterfinals in NSIC Tournament

Wednesday, February 26

St. Cloud, Minn.

5:30 P.M.

St. Cloud State

15-13,11-11NSIC

Minot State

10-20,9-13NSIC

Minot St.

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Nathaly Delgado

Strong Defensive Second Half Propels Huskies to the Quarterfinals in NSIC Tournament

2/26/2025 10:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

St. Cloud State beats Minot State 64-53 in First Round

St. Cloud, Minn.- St. Cloud State Women's Basketball (15-13, 11-11 NSIC) advanced to the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament after defeating Minot State 64-53 Wednesday evening. With the game tied 2-2, Reagan Briggs and Alana Zarneke knocked down back-to-back threes as SCSU took an 8-4 lead at the 7:01 mark of the first quarter. Minot State responded with a three of their own as they now only trailed by a single point. The rest of the first quarter was a tight battle as neither team held more than a one possession lead as the game would be tied at 17 after the first. To start the second quarter, Minot surged to an eight point lead following a 10-2 run. Out of a timeout with 4:46 left in the half, Paige Lambe finished inside to give the Huskies their first field goal of the quarter. Following a series of stops by both teams, Jada Eggebrecht cashed a three as SCSU started to gain momentum. The Huskies forced another turnover as Lambe again finished inside. With 1:05 left in the half, Alana Zarneke would get fouled and make both free throws as the Huskies now held a 28-27 lead. The teams traded free throw makes, before Sydney Gustavsson made a buzzer beating three to give the Beavers a 32-29 lead at the break. Like much of the first half, the third quarter was a back-and-forth battle which neither team holding more than a one possession lead. A floater by Rachel Kottke with six seconds left in the third would give the Huskies a 45-42 lead going into the final frame. The Huskies got off to a strong start in the forth as a steal and score by Eggebrecht forced a timeout by the Beavers as St. Cloud State now led 51-42. SCSU held a steady lead for the next few minutes before a layup by Kylan Gerads pushed the lead up to 12 with 3:07 left in the game. St. Cloud State would lead by 7+ points the rest of the way as they came away with a 64-53 win to advance to the quarterfinals. The second half defense by SCSU was impeccable as they held Minot State to 21 points on 8/29 shooting with five turnovers.

Top Huskies

Jada Eggebrecht led the Huskies in scoring with 16 points on 6/12 shooting. She also dished out a season-high of five assists to go with two rebounds and threes. This was her ninth game scoring 16+ points.
Alana Zarneke nearly notched a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. She also cashed two three-pointers and totaled a block and steal. This was her 13th multi-three game of the season.
Kylan Gerads scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. This was Gerads' 11th game scoring in double-figures.

Notables

St. Cloud State is now 23-5 all-time against Minot State and have won six consecutive games.
The Huskies led the game in field goal percentage (45.1-36.5), rebounds (39-23), offensive rebounds (11-5), assists (19-8), points off turnovers (11-9), points in the paint (28-19), second chance points (13-0), fast break points (4-0), and bench points (26-9).
Kristi Kottke stuffed the stat sheet with six points, seven rebounds, and four assists. This was her second game with 7+ rebounds.
Paige Lambe scored nine points and grabbed two rebounds. This was her 12th game scoring 9+ points this season.
Reagan Briggs scored three points and grabbed seven rebounds. This was Briggs' seventh game with 7+ rebounds.
Alyssa Stamer dished out four assists.
Rachel Kottke scored six points and grabbed two rebounds.
Halle Vande Hey tallied four points and three rebounds.

Up Next
St. Cloud State will continue postseason play on Saturday, March 1 at 11:00 a.m. as they take on the No. 1 seed Concordia-St. Paul at the Sanford Pentagon. 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.