Photo courtesy of Kylie Macziewski/St. Cloud State Athletics SMSU’s Meleah Reinhart drives past a St. Cloud State University defender during their game on Friday. The Mustangs fell to the Huskies 72-60.

ST. CLOUD – Southwest Minnesota State struggled shooting in the second half and St. Cloud State was able to take advantage to earn a 72-60 victory in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women’s basketball on Friday night at Halenbeck Hall.

SCSU, which improves to 5-3 overall, 2-2 NSIC, held a 41-40 halftime lead, before limiting SMSU to just three field goals and outscoring the Mustangs 22-7 in the third quarter.

SMSU finished the game shooting 40 percent (21 of 53) from the field, but made just 7 of 25 from 3-point range. The Mustangs closed the second half shooting 31 percent, which include just one 3-pointer made on 10 attempts to fall to 4-5 overall, 1-3 NSIC.

Abuk Akoi scored a career-high 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting for the Mustangs, while teammate Sadie Stelter added 12 points and six rebounds. Caleigh Rodning, SMSU’s leading scorer on the season, scored nine points in just 15 minutes before fouling out with 7:45 left in the game.

SCSU closed the night shooting just 37 percent, including 1 of 13 from the field in the final 10 minutes, but the Huskies held a 45-35 rebound advantage which led to a 21-6 scoring edge in second chance points. SCSU also finished with a 21-7 scoring advantage in points off of turnovers.

Madelin Dammann scored a game-high 20 points for the Huskies and also grabbed eight rebounds. Nikki Kilboten poured in 15 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

The teams played a tight, back-and-forth opening half which featured eight lead changes and four ties.

Both teams shot well from the field in the opening quarter with SCSU holding a slight 15-14 lead with 3:43 remaining. Following a layup by Stelter, teammate Emily Buysse gave SMSU a 19-15 lead with a 3-pointer at the 2:30 mark to help the Mustangs build a 21-19 lead after one quarter of the play.

SMSU would later hold a 27-25 advantage following an Akoi field goal with 6:32 remaining in the second quarter, before SCSU rallied with a 13-1 over the next three-plus minutes to build its largest lead at 38-28 with 3:15 left in the half.

The Mustangs countered with a flurry of 3-pointers to cut into the deficit. Stelter and Jenna Borchers hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the SCSU lead to 38-34. Following a Huskie field goal, Erin Baxter connected from long-range to trim the score to 40-37 with two minutes remaining. SMSU would continue its rally and would eventually tie the score at 40 following a pair of Sarah Buysse free throws with 1:24 left in the half.

SCSU made one of two free throws with just over a minute remaining to stop SMSU’s 12-2 run and take a 41-40 halftime lead.

The Mustangs shot 48 percent in the opening half with six 3-pointers. Akoi and Stelter each scored 10 points to pace the SMSU offense. The Huskies closed the opening half shooting 46 percent from the field.

SMSU struggled to find any offense in the opening seven minutes of the second half, making just one of its first nine shots. SCSU took advantage and used a 12-0 run to build a 55-42 lead with 3:42 remaining in the third quarter.

SMSU’s Meleah Reinhart ended the run with a layup at the 2:34 mark, but the Huskies continued its torrid shooting, closing the quarter on an 8-3 run to take a 63-47 lead after three quarters. SMSU finished the quarter making just 3 of 14 from the field, including 0 of 5 from 3-point range.

SMSU would cut the SCSU lead to 65-54 midway through the fourth quarter on a layup by Akoi, but following two missed SMSU free throws a minute later, SCSU answered with its lone field goal of the quarter to build a 67-54 advantage and seal the victory.

Southwest Minnesota State concludes the weekend road trip today with a 3:30 p.m. match-up versus Minnesota Duluth (4-2, 3-1 NSIC) at Romano Gym.

Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications