By: Jake Bedell / KVSC Sports Director / @Jake_Bedell91

St. Cloud State faced a hard-fought opponent Saturday night taking on the Wolves of Northern State. In a tight first round battle, punches were thrown by both sides. SCSU bested NSU 61-50 in the opening round, to advance in the NISC Tournament. St. Cloud State took their time to settle in at the Pentagon, but before long the veterans settled in. When they did, the stars shined under the lights for the Huskies.

The first two quarters went the way of Northern State, who led 29-24 and seemed to be the better team in every facet. Sophomore Forward Kailee Oliverson led the way through that stretch as she scored 11 points and carried the team to a 48.1% shooting percentage. Junior Forward Laurie Rogers was a stalwart defensively for NSU, cleaning up 6 Defensive Rebounds in the first two quarters, and St. Cloud State was held to a meager 23.6% from the field.  

After the half, SCSU looked like a whole new team. Graduate Guard Tori Wortz held her ground in the third and fourth, draining three of four team three-pointers for St. Cloud State. Wortz collected 17 points in the final two frames, guiding SCSU to a night and day performance, shooting 41.9% from the field. Junior Guard Brehna Evans cleared out the paint with 5 Total Rebounds. Outscoring the Wolves 37-21 in the second half, SCSU glided to a first-round victory over their foe from Aberdeen, and they will move on in the NSIC Tournament.

Up next for SCSU, they look to get back to that NSIC Final Match here at the Pentagon. That journey will start with taking on the winner of Concordia-St. Paul and Bemidji State who are set to duke it out Sunday, Feb 27^th at 4:30pm from Sioux Falls. The semi-final match of the NSIC Tournament is scheduled for 4:30pm on Monday, Feb. 28th. That game can be heard on 97.5 Radio X, with pregame getting underway right around 4:15pm.