St. Cloud State Women’s Basketball Ranked 8th in NSIC Preseason Poll, Alana Zarneke Named Player to Watch

BURNSVILLE, Minn. – St. Cloud State Women's Basketball was projected to finish eighth in the 2026-27 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Preseason Coaches' Poll as announced by the league office Thursday morning. Senior guard Alana Zarneke was named the Huskies preseason player to watch, after a 2025-26 season where she was the second leading scorer on the team, averaging 11.7 points and 3.9 rebounds.

Head Coach Lori Fish enters her 19th season with St. Cloud State. Fish and the Huskies are coming off an eight-place finish in the NSIC last season (fifth in the South), tallying a 14-15 overall record with a 10-12 conference record. The Huskies made their 14th consecutive postseason appearance last season, coming away with a win in the First Round over the University of Sioux Falls, before falling in the NSIC Quarterfinals to Minnesota State-Mankato.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the growth of this team and how quickly we can get our six new players up to speed." said Fish. "This group has put in a lot of work this offseason, and I'm excited to see how that translates to the court."

A 2024-2025 Second Team All-NSIC, Alana Zarneke had yet again another productive season in 2025-26. Zarneke averaged 11.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 stocks, shot 39.2% from the field, 31.5% from three, and 79.1% from the free throw line. She enters the 2026-27 with 119 career three pointers, just five away from being top 10 all-time in Husky history.

"Alana has always been a strong player and fierce competitor." said Fish. "She has the ability to change the momentum of a game and will be a key leader for our team this season."

The Huskies will also be headlined by Abigail O'Reilly, Paige Lambe, Reagan Briggs, and Ashley Sawicki. O'Reilly returned from injury last season, playing in all 29 games with six starts, averaging 9.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assist, shooting 49.0% from the field and 74.6% from the free throw line. Lambe started in all 29 games last season, averaging 7.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2 assists. Briggs started in 20 of her 24 games played last season, averaging 6.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and a team-high 1.6 steals. Briggs scored a career high, 15 points against Bemidji State last season. A 5th year senior, Sawicki looks to pick up where she left off when she returned to play last season and helped the Huskies in their late season run.

Other returners include Halle Vande Hey, Grace Roesch, Elise Groppoli, Kyla Hendricks, Annika Peper, and Laynie Meister. The Huskies brought in six newcomers this season including Senior transfer from Bemidji State, Tieryn Plasch. Plasch started in all 27 games for the Beavers averaging 11 points and leading their team last season with 58 assists and 34 steals. Five Freshman will join the roster including Brynn Krull, Morgan Korf, Haylie Wolbeck, Violet Otto, and Lauren Hust.

Preseason Coaches' Poll

Minnesota State (#1 South)

Concordia-St. Paul (#3 South)

Sioux Falls (#2 South)

University of Mary (#1 North)

Minnesota Duluth (#2 North)

Southwest Minnesota State (#5 South)

MSU-Moorhead (#3 North)

St. Cloud State (#4 South)

Winona State (#6 South)

Northern State (#4 North)

Augustana (#7 South)

Minot State (#5 North)

Jamestown (#6 North)

Wayne State (#8 South)

Minnesota Crookston (#7 North)

Bemidji State (#8 North)

From the NSIC

NSIC coaches rank each team in the NSIC in the overall poll and team from their division in the divisional poll. In the overall poll coaches rank from 1 to 15 with a first-place vote receiving 15 points, second place 14, third place 13, etc. Coaches do not rank their own team or vote for their own players.

The regular season champion will be based on the 22-game NSIC schedule. Each team will play teams in their division twice (14 divisional games) and teams in the other division once (8 out-of-division games). An NSIC North and South Division Champion will also be awarded. Divisional standings will also be based on all 22 NSIC contests played. In the event of a tie, co-champions will be awarded.

Look Ahead

The Huskies kick things off on October 28th playing an exhibition against Division I, South Dakota State University at 7:00 pm. CT. The regular season will begin on November 13th against Washburn at the SMSU Crossover Challenge in Marshall, MN. The Huskies will continue playing in the Crossover Challenge the following day (November 14th) taking on Northwest Missouri in Marshall.

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.