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St. Cloud State University
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Augie turns away SCSU
Vikings tie SCSU women's basketball team for seventh place in the NCC playoff race with 81-69 win.
By Drew Herron
Published:
Monday, February 10, 2003
As disappointing as this season is shaping out to be, the SCSU women's basketball team isn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.
Why should they?
They still have as good a chance as any team of reaching the postseason. With this last weekend resulting in a win and a loss, the playoff picture couldn't be more blurred for St. Cloud.
The NCC is dominated at the top by the four universities from the Dakota's, but after that, there is a lot of congestion. South Dakota State has only one loss and is the No. 1 team in the nation, while UND, NDSU and South Dakota are all just a step behind.
Below USD, it's a free-for-all. The Huskies (8-14) have already eclipsed last season's total losses, but it looks like the unique situation that exists in the conference right now will reward the teams that play the toughest down the stretch.
Northern Colorado and Nebraska-Omaha are tied for fifth. Trailing these teams by a game, and currently deadlocked for the seventh and final playoff spot, are Augustana and SCSU.
"We look at the standings and we realize we're right in the middle of the conference with about three or four other teams," sophomore guard Katie Huschle said. "It all comes down to how we play the next five or six games we have left."
Coming into Thursday night's game, MSU, Mankato was a lowly 1-8, but even they're not out of it. The Mavs were fresh off their first conference victory after they defeated Augustana 81-70 in Sioux Falls, S.D., last Saturday night and were looking to make it two in a row.
The Huskies had won nine straight against Mankato, including a 79-65 road victory on Jan. 25, and were about to make it 10.
Junior post Kris DeGroot scored a career-high 26 points Thursday night, helping the Huskies complete the season sweep of MSU, Mankato. DeGroot recorded her third double-double of the season as she collected a game-high 10 rebounds, while guards Katie Huschle scored 16 points and Sascha Hansen added 11.
The Huskies found themselves trailing early after Mankato started strong, but it was only a matter of time before they would catch up.
"I think we just started executing on offense, we took the extra time to get good shots and lay-ups instead of taking outside shots," Huschle said.
"On defense we just got back and got one stop at a time. We didn't try to get it all back at once."
Trailing by nine at 27-18 with just over six minutes remaining in the first half, the Huskies went on an 18-7 run to take a 36-34 lead into halftime. Countering the slow start in the first half, the team came out flying in the second and never relinquished the lead.
SCSU shot 54 percent from the field and outrebounded the Mavs 37-26. The loss dropped MSU to 1-9 in conference play.
The momentum built by the impressive home victory failed to follow the team to Sioux Falls on Saturday and was replaced by the shooting difficulties of last week. In a battle for seventh place, St. Cloud fell 81-69 to Augustana as they struggled making their shots once again.
The Vikings got things started early. Augie went on a 16-0 run and established a 20-6 lead, wedging a solid gap at 35-17 before the Huskies responded with a 15-2 run to trim the lead to five at 37-32.
But, Augustana answered back with their own 7-2 run in the waning minutes, and led by 10 at the half.
"We got down by 15 or 18 and it's tough to come back," Huschle said. "We tied it in the second half, but just couldn't finish the game or hit shots at the end."
After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, it may have looked like d�j� vu for the Vikings. The Huskies battled back to tie the game at 57, but unlike the team's first meeting, which resulted in a heroic second half comeback by the Huskies, the Vikings played solid down the stretch and earned a much needed victory that makes the conference's playoff picture all the more unclear.
Junior post Kris DeGroot led the team in scoring once again as she recorded 16 while senior post Jonelle Streed contributed 14. Sophomore guard Katie Huschle was solid from the free-throw line once again, going seven for eight on her way to 13 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds while first-year post Kellie Heinen had a career-high 10.
SCSU outrebounded Augie 47-38, but it was the 37 percent from the field that made the difference. Augustana didn't shoot much better at 45 percent, but the 10 point lead the Vikings held at the half proved to be the insurance policy they would end up needing.
Three Vikings finished with double-digit scoring as sophomore forward Katie Krauth led all scorers with 19 points and sophomore guard Laura Hensley added 15. Senior forward Charissa Sheppard chipped in 10.
The win by Augustana snaps a six-game losing skid and means they, and the Huskies, both 3-8, are now tied for the seventh and final playoff spot.
"We know these last games are critical," Huschle said. "Just coming into the last three weeks, we really need to put it together and play our best basketball."
