Women's Basketball
Women's Basketball
NSIC Women's Basketball: SCSU 76, Southwest Minnesota 55
Tacheny Leads Huskies to Seventh Straight Win, 76-55 Over Southwest Minnesota State
Friday, January 16, 2009
Katie Tacheny scores a career high 31 |
St. Cloud, Minn. – St. Cloud State senior guard Katie Tacheny (Woodbury) put her team on her back, scored a career high 31 points, and carried the Huskies to a 76-55 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) win over Southwest Minnesota State University Friday night at Halenbeck Hall. The win is the seventh straight for the Huskies.
With the win St. Cloud State improved to 14-1 overall and 7-1 in the NSIC. The Huskies maintained sole possession of second place in the league standings and will host Minnesota State University, Mankato Saturday in a game that matches the top two teams in the league as the Mavericks are 15-0 overall and 8-0 in the league following a 62-50 win at Concordia, St. Paul. Southwest Minnesota State is 10-8 overall and 2-6 in the NSIC.
Of note, the Huskies will host their annual Alumni game tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 in Halenbeck Hall. Over 30 alumni will return to campus for the event.
Tacheny bested her previous high of 29 points with ten of 12 made field goals, two of three from beyond the arc and nine of 11 shooting at the free throw line. She also dished out nine assists, one shy of her career high, had four steals and five rebounds. Tacheny had help from sophomore post Rachel Booth (Minneapolis) who scored 20 points, had six rebounds, and two blocked shots. Booth backed up and made two of two three-point attempts and made eight of ten field goal attempts. Sophomore guard Talisha Barlow (Little Canada) dropped in 13 points and added a team high seven rebounds. The Huskies shot 60.6 percent from the field in the second half and finished the game shooting 49.1 percent. They committed only ten turnovers and won despite losing the battle of the boards 39-29.
Southwest Minnesota State was led by junior guard Megan Stadler with 11 points. Senior forward Sara Leidall had nine points and six rebounds, and sophomore guard Tori Fink also had nine points. Sophomore center Laura Kramer had a game high ten rebounds and scored six points. The Mustangs shot 40.7 percent from the field and committed 25 turnovers.
The Mustangs were first on the board opening the game with a Sara Leidall three-point basket.Tacheny tied the game at 8-8 with two free throws and then the Mustangs went on a 10-2 run to take a 20-10 lead halfway through the opening frame. Two free throws by St. Cloud State’s Rachel Booth tied the score 24-24 at the 4:23 mark, and next time down the court Booth knocked down a three-point basket at the top of the key to give the Huskies their second lead of the game, 27-24 at the 3:52 mark. Booth scored nine points in the 17-4 run by the Huskies. After taking the lead, Southwest’s Leidall scored on back to back jumpers to put the Mustangs ahead 28-27. St. Cloud State’s Katie Tacheny made one of two free throw attempts with :29 seconds left in the half to tie the game 28-28 at half-time. Tacheny scored 12 first half points and Booth added 11 to lead the Huskies who shot 33.3 percent in the half. The Mustangs were led by Leidall with seven points, shot 42.9 percent as a team, and out rebounded SCSU 25-10.
Tacheny opened the second half with a three-point basket and a jumper by Barlow gave the Huskies a five point lead a minute and a half into the final stanza. But the Mustangs came back with a 22-11 run that gave the visitor’s a six point lead, 55-40 at the 12:34 mark. The Mustangs opened the run with three-point baskets from Stadler, Abby Oakland and Tori Fink. Stadler added four more points in the run. A three-point basket by St. Cloud State senior guard Anna Cashman (Faribault) , followed by free throws from Tacheny and Barlow, and another Cashman three put the Huskies ahead 53-51 at the 10:18 mark. The Husky offense took off and Southwest Minnesota State would score four points in the final 11 minutes of the game. Booth with nine, Barlow with eight, and Tacheny with six, combined to score the final 23 points of the game for the Huskies.
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