St. Cloud State
14-14,10-12NSIC
Sioux Falls
13-16,10-12NSIC
Huskies Dominate Glass En Route to 77-65 Playoff Win Over Sioux Falls
2/25/2026 9:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SCSU reaches quarterfinals for eighth straight
St. Cloud, MN. – St. Cloud State Women's Basketball (14-14, 10-12 NSIC) took to the court for the final time at Halenbeck Hall this season and came away with a 77-65 victory over Sioux Falls in the first round of the NSIC Tournament. The Huskies commanded the glass all evening with a +21 rebounding margin and totaled 21 offensive rebounds for 16 second chance points.
St. Cloud State quickly burst out to a 7-2 lead in the first quarter as Alana Zarneke cashed a three at the 8:20 mark. Sioux Falls would respond with an 8-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. The margins stayed tight the rest of the quarter, but Abigail O'Reilly capped off an 8-1 run to end the frame by finishing a layup as the buzzer expired. SCSU would hold a 21-18 lead after one. The tight battle continued into the second quarter as neither team were able to gain much separation from the other. With 6:21 left in the half, Ashley Sawicki started to take over the game as a dominant force in the paint. Sawicki would score seven straight points for SCSU all originating from the post. She would finish a left-handed layup through contact for the and-one to give St. Cloud State a 33-28 lead with 3:39 remaining in the half. The Huskies held steady on that lead as they went into halftime holding a 38-33 lead.
The Huskies would open the third quarter with a bang as Reagan Briggs picked off a cross-court pass and went coast to coast for the layup. After a series of stops by SCSU, Briggs drove inside and finished another layup as the lead grew to nine points. With an energized defense after Briggs set the tone, the Huskies started to roll as a layup by Paige Lambe pushed the lead to double-digits. With more defensive stops being strung, Kristi Kottke would bury a slot three off an assist from Sawicki as Sioux Falls called a timeout. St. Cloud State continued to pour it on as they ultimately opened on a 15-0 run in the first six a half minutes of the third to lead 53-33. The Huskies would go on to lead 60-43 going into the fourth as O'Reilly again beat the buzzer on a putback layup. The start of the fourth saw Sioux Falls work the lead down to 10 at the 7:35 mark of the fourth. The Huskies would respond with a 9-2 run as Jada Eggebrecht splashed a corner three to push the lead back up to 17 points. St. Cloud State would lead by 12+ points the rest of the way as they took down the Cougars 77-65 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.
Top Huskies
- Alana Zarneke led the Huskies in scoring with 21 points to go with six rebounds, three threes, and two steals. This was her seventh game cashing 3+ threes this season and fifth game with 21+ points.
- Jada Eggebrecht finished with 17 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a block and steal. She moved into 11th all-time in scoring at SCSU with 1,523 points. This was her ninth game scoring 17+ points this season.
- CJ Adamson stuffed the stat sheet with four points, five rebounds, and six assists. This was her fifth game dishing out 6+ assists.
Notables
- St. Cloud State is now 10-11 all-time against Sioux Falls.
- The Huskies led the game in three-pointers made (5-2), rebounds (49-28), offensive rebounds (21-7), assists (19-12), steals (10-9), blocks (4-3), points in the paint (36-34), second chance points (16-3), and bench points (27-5).
- This was the eighth consecutive season that SCSU has reached the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament which dates back to the 2017-18 season.
- Abigail O'Reilly was the final Husky to score in double-figures with 11 points on 5/9 shooting. She grabbed seven rebounds with four being offensive. This was O'Reilly's sixth game with 4+ offensive rebounds.
- Ashley Sawicki tallied nine points (4/7), three rebounds, and a block and steal. This was Sawicki's third game scoring 9+ points this season.
- Paige Lambe and Reagan Briggs each scored five points. Lambe added four rebounds and two blocks while Briggs tallied three rebounds and two steals.
- Kristi Kottke registered three points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. This was her 12th game grabbing 7+ rebounds.
- Rachel Kottke recorded two points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal. This was Kottke's 13th game corralling 6+ rebounds.
Up Next
St. Cloud State will be back in action next Saturday as they take on No. 3 Minnesota State in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament. Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
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.
