For Immediate Release
Monday, Dec. 16, 2013
NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release
NSIC Player of the Week
#40 Anika Whiting
F, 6-2, Jr.,
Ashland, Wis.
Ashland HS
Concordia-St. Paul
Whiting was a force in Concordia’s two huge road wins this past weekend against No. 10 Augustana and No. 17 Wayne State. She averaged a double-double with 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 50.0% from the field and going 8-8 from the free thrrow line. She scored a season-high 25 points on 9-16 from the floor and 6-6 from the line and grabbed 10 boards on Friday in the thrilling 71-69 win over the Vikings. She followed it up with 14 points and 11 rebounds, tied for a season-high, in the come-from-behind 57-54 win at Wayne State. Whiting is now shooting 94.9% from the free throw line, good for second in the NSIC. Her 17.2 points per game are eighth in the league.
2013-14 NSIC Women’s Basketball Notes
AUGUSTANA - #20 Rhianna Gullickson (F, 6-0, Jr., Alexandria, S.D. / Hanson HS) continued her great start to the 2013-14 season with two more impressive games this past weekend for the Vikings. The junior post player started things off on Friday with a career-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting against No. 25 Concordia-St. Paul. Gullickson also pulled down six rebounds in the 71-69 loss. On Saturday, Gullickson poured in 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including going a perfect 8 for 8 from the foul line in an 86-82 win over No. 12 Minnesota State. The Alexandria, S.D. native also grabbed six rebounds and recorded two steals. Gullickson averaged 18.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal for the weekend. She also shot 60 percent on 12-of-20 shooting, and went 10 of 12 (83.3 percent) from the foul line.
No. 10 Augustana went 1-1 against two ranked teams over the past weekend at the Elmen Center. The Vikings played No. 25 Concordia-St. Paul on Friday. Augustana was led by a career-high 21 points from Rhianna Gullickson in the 71-69 loss to the Golden Bears, who used a late 13-5 run in the final 5:51 to secure the victory. Anika Whiting had a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds for Concordia-St. Paul. Head coach Dave Krauth became the 20th Division II women’s basketball coach with 500 career victories on Saturday in an 86-82 Vikings’ win over No. 12 Minnesota State. Augustana saw all five of its starters score in double figures for the first time this season, with Shaunteva Ashley leading the way with 18 points. The Vikings would attack the basket, especially in the second half, attempting a season high 44 free throws, converting 36 of them. 33 free throws came in the second half. Augustana’s 81.8 percent from the charity stripe was also a season high. The Vikings also would force the Mavericks into a season-high 27 turnovers.
BEMIDJI STATE - #42 Kate Warmack (C, 6-2, Sr., East Grand Forks, Minn. / East Grand Forks HS) averaged 10.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in an 0-2 NSIC road weekend. She recorded 16 points on 63.6 percent shooting from the field and added six rebounds versus MSU Moorhead. Warmack posted her seventh game this season with 10 or more rebounds at Northern State Saturday, as she totaled 11 boards. She recorded a block in each contest.
The Bemidji State women’s basketball team fell to 5-4 overall and 1-4 in NSIC play Dec. 13-14, as it lost its second and third consecutive games. BSU went on the road and lost 94-69 at MSU Moorhead and 66-53 at Northern State. In league play this season, senior Kate Warmack ranks tied for first in blocks (1.8 bpg), fourth in field goal percentage (61.7%), fourth in rebounding (10.0 rpg) and eighth in scoring (18.2 ppg). The Beavers host Minnesota Crookston Dec. 20 to conclude the 2013 calendar year. BSU fell to the Golden Eagles earlier this season 104-84 in Crookston, Minn.
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - Anika Whiting (F, 6’2”, Jr., Ashland, Wis. / HS) was a force in Concordia’s two huge road wins this past weekend against Augustana and Wayne State. She averaged a double-double with 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 50.0% from the field and going 8-8 from the free thrrow line. She scored a season-high 25 points on 9-16 from the floor and 6-6 from the line and grabbed 10 boards on Friday in the thrilling 71-69 win over the Vikings. She followed it up with 14 points and 11 rebounds, tied for a season-high, in the come-from-behind 57-54 win in Wayne. Whiting is now shooting 94.9% from the free throw line, good for second in the NSIC. Her 17.2 points per game are eighth in the league.
#25 Concordia (9-3) had a pair of impressive wins on the road as they took down #10 Augustana and #17 Wayne State. The Golden Bears trailed at half against the Vikings 37-29 on Friday, but CU battled back in the second half. Concordia took their first lead of the game at 54-51 following a 13-2 run, but Augie stormed back to take a 64-58 lead with just under six to play. The Golden Bears closed the game on a 13-5 run, only allowing one made field goal, to claim a 71-69 win. Saturday night, the Golden Bears once again fell behind big in the first half, trailing by 11 with 3:48 left in the first. The two teams went back and forth in the second half before CU scored seven straight to take a 52-49 lead. Late free throws and a WSC bucket pushed it to a final score of 57-54.
UNIVERSITY OF MARY -#34 Linda Murray (F, Sr., 6-2, Fresno, Calif. / Merced CC / Edison HS) continued her dominance for U-Mary scoring 38 points and grabbing 20 rebounds, 11 of which were offensive, this weekend. Murray shot 15-for-27 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line. In leading U-Mary to a 76-68 win over Minnesota Duluth Murray scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Taking a commanding lead at 16-4, U-Mary led wire to wire in its 76-68 win over Minnesota Duluth. The following night the Marauders started strong with a 9-2 start, but St. Cloud State countered with a 19-3 run as it cruised to a 100-80 win. Although a sweep was the goal after defeating Minnesota Duluth on Friday, a weekend split leaves U-Mary just one game out of first place going into this weeks rematch against Minot State.
MINNESOTA CROOKSTON - The University of Minnesota Crookston had a tough weekend in conference play at Northern State University and at Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Golden Eagles gave everything they had against the Wolves, testing them until the end of the game Friday but came up just three points short after an Alexa Thielman trey fell short in the waning seconds. The Golden Eagles fell 74-71. UMC was led by 23 points from Thielman, while Katrina Moenkedick added 16 and Erika McRoberts had 12.
Saturday, UMC was out-scored 21-2 in the early going and couldn’t recover, losing 77-60 to MSU Moorhead. UMC was led by 13 points from both Moenkedick and Thielman. The Golden Eagles will wrap up the 2013 slate Fri., Dec. 20 as they head to Bemidji State University for a 6 p.m. meeting. The match-up will be their second and final meeting with BSU this season after already playing them to open up the season Nov. 30, where they picked up a 104-84 win. The victory remains their lone win so far in the league as they are currently 4-5 (1-4 NSIC).
MINNESOTA DULUTH - Friday night, U-Mary clipped UMD 68-76, but the Bulldogs bounced back with a 70-68 victory over Minot State on Saturday. Junior guard Danielle Flood averaged 14.0 PPG on the weekend including 6-of-12 from three-point range, with a block, a steal, and four assists for good measure. Last week’s NSIC Player of the Week, senior center Hannah Rutten, had 15 points and 12 rebounds with a pair of blocks and five steals on Friday night, while freshman center Allyson Harris had a double-double of her own (10 points, 12 rebounds) in her first career start on Saturday night while adding two blocks and a steal of her own. The Bulldogs shot 45.4 percent on the weekend and had 14 three-point scores, out-rebounding opponents 62-51 including 49-18 on the defensive end.
Player of the Week: Junior guard Jessica Newman scored the go-ahead basket not once but twice in the closing minute of Saturday’s game with Minot State, first drilling a three-point to put UMD up 68-66 and then, after the Beavers tied the score, dropping in a ten-foot jumper with seven-tenths of a second on the clock to give the Bulldogs the win. Newman finished with a season-high 11 points on Friday night and then improved upon that with 13 on Saturday. She added seven assists on the weekend and shot 52.9 percent, including four of nine from beyond the arch.
MINNESOTA STATE - No. 12 Minnesota State suffered a pair of tough road losses as it fell to No. 17 Wayne State, 79-64 Friday and dropped an 86-82 decision to No. 10 Augustana, falling to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in Conference action. The Mavericks were led on the weekend by senior Ali Wilkinson, who averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds in the two contests.
Ali Wilkinson netted her 28th and 29th career double-doubles as she posted 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 79-64 loss to No. 17 Wayne State and followed it up with a 21 point, 12 rebound performance in an 86-82 loss to No. 10 Augustana. The 6-0 forward is averaging 19.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest in the Mavericks first nine games of the season. Wilkinson connected on 60% of her field goals, 69% from the charity stripe and connected on her only three-point attempt of the weekend.
MSU MOORHEAD - Meghan Roehrich (G, 5-10, So., Fargo, N.D. / Fargo South HS) continued her solid offensive season with a pair of good performances in MSUM wins over Bemidji State (94-69) and Minnesota Crookston (77-60) last week. In Friday’s win over Bemidji State, Roehrich had 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. She also was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. A night later against Minnesota Crookston, Roehrich had 17 points and two rebounds. She was 3-for-4 from three-point range and also a perfect 8-of-8 from the field. For the week, Roehrich averaged 18.5 points and 1.0 steals per game and also was a perfect 13-of-13 from the foul line. She shot 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from three-point range and shot 64.3 percent from the field overall. Roehrich is averaging 14.3 points per game and has scored in double figures in eight straight games.
MINOT STATE - Minot State University fell from the ranks of the undefeated Friday and now finds itself with its first losing streak as the Beavers were defeated twice over the weekend, 92-85 at St. Cloud State and 70-68 at Minnesota Duluth. The Beavers sit at 7-2 overall and 3-2 in NSIC play. Minot State got outstanding play from its Australian twins #50 Christina Boag (F, 6-2, Jr., Tamworth, Australia / Abbotsleigh) and #40 Carly Boag (F, 6-2, Sr., Tamworth, Australia / Abbotsleigh). Christina Boag had her best weekend of the young season, scoring 41 points and pulling down 15 rebounds in the two games. She also had 10 assists, four steals and a block. Carly Boag continued her outstanding play with 34 combined points and 13 rebounds. She also had nine steals and four assists. Morgan Klose (G, 5-9, Jr., Fairview, N.D. / Fairview) led MISU on Saturday with a season-high 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers. She finished with 25 points combined with eight assists and four rebounds. The Beavers will look to end their two-game losing streak with a single game, traveling to rival University of Mary Friday.
NORTHERN STATE - The Northern State University women’s basketball tallied two NSIC wins this last weekend over Minnesota Crookston (74-71) and Bemidji State (66-53). The Wolves improved to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the league. In game one of the weekend NSU saw a career high from senior Alison Kusler with 29 points. Not to mention her 29 points on the night, Kusler shot 71.4 percent from the floor going 10-14 along with five rebounds as she played every minute of the game. Junior Rachel Krogman was close behind with 18 points and 13 rebounds notching yet another double-double on the season. Megan Mutchler added another 16 points and nine rebounds in the game. The Wolves out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 41-30 in the game, while scoring 11 second chance points. NSU added 15 points off 12 UMC turnovers. Northern shot 45.5 percent from the floor and committed only 15 fouls in the game. The women managed 37 points in each half, ending period one up by five. Night two brought an impressive performance from NSU bench player Kara Hofschild. Hofschild scored 11 points while bringing down six defensive rebounds and adding three assists; coming up big with only minutes remaining in the game from the free-throw line. Sadie Stotesbery matched Hofschild with another 11 NSU points in the game. Leading the night once again in scoring was Alison Kusler with 17 and the teams only made three point bucket. The team racked up a season high 13 steals off of 25 BSU turnovers. The turnovers also resulted in 28 NSU points. Northern continued to play well from the paint scoring 30 points, 12 of which came from offensive rebounds. As a team, the Wolves compiled 22 bench points off the backs of Hofschild and Stotesbery. The Wolves will return home next Saturday as they take on the Dragons of MSU Moorhead with game time set for 5 p.m. from Wachs Arena.
#32 Alison Kusler (G, 5-9, Sr., Aberdeen, S.D./Aberdeen Central HS) scored a career high 29 points Friday night in the Wolves match-up with Minnesota Crookston. Kusler, who is on the hunt for 1,000 career points, was 10-14 from the floor and 7-9 from the free-throw line. She also racked up five rebounds, two assists and a steal in the NSU win. Night two added another 17 points for Kusler as she was the only Wolf to make a three point basket. She hit the glass for five rebounds in the game, while dishing out two assists. Her defense led Northern to their second win of the weekend and three steals in the game. Alison now sits at 957 career points after playing a total of 78 minutes this past weekend.
SIOUX FALLS - The Cougars looked to bounce back on the road after dropping two conference games at home, but failed to do so falling in both road games by a combined six points. On Friday against Winona State, both teams struggled offensively as the Cougars shot 38.9% from the field while the Warriors made 37.5% of their field goals in a WSU 63-60 victory. The Warriors were in control the entire night, leading for the final 34:21 of the game. WSU dominated the Cougars on the boards grabbing 40 rebounds of their own compared to 25 by the Cougars. USF had a chance to tie the game late, but were unable to get up an attempt as they turned over the ball with two seconds remaining in the game. The Warriors had three players in double-digits and were led by Abby Busch who dropped 18 for WSU. On Saturday against Upper Iowa, the Cougars led the game until UIU’s Whitney Kieffer got fouled on a made jumpshot and connected from the stripe to give Upper Iowa a two-point lead and their first lead of the game with just over three minutes left. Laura Johnson answered back as she hit a three-point shot with just over two minutes left to give the Cougars a one-point lead. Johnson’s three-point shot was off of a Chrissy Strassburg pass. Jaicee Ulmer completed a three-point play with less than one-minute left in the game to give USF a four-point lead. Free-throws by Laura Buck and Whitney Kieffer gave the Peacocks a one-point lead with thirty seconds left. The Cougars then brought the ball down the court where Laura Johnson missed a jump shot with ten seconds left. The Cougars sent the Peacocks Sam Thrapp to the line where she hit both of her attempts to extend UIU’s lead to three-points. The ensuing possession the Cougars turned the ball over with only three seconds remaining as UIU claimed a three-point victory.
On the weekend the Cougars struggled from behind the arc as they hit 22.2% of their 53 three-point attempts. USF also struggled on the boards as they were out rebounded by an average of 13.0 rebounds per game over the weekend. Taylor Varsho (G, 5-7, So., Chili, Wis./Colorado State) was the top scorer for the Cougars in the two games as she averaged 18.5 points per game and also grabbed five total rebounds. Freshman Sam Knecht (F, 6-2, Fr., Faulkton, S.D./Aberdeen Central HS) also played well in limited action as she was in foul trouble in both games. Knecht averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game over the weekend. After only scoring six points against Winona State on Friday, Laura Johnson (F, 6-0, Sr., Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls HS) bounced back with a 19 point, 10 rebound and 4 block performance against the Peacocks. The Cougars will look to break their four-game skid when they travel to Marshall, Minn. to take on Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday December 21.
SMSU - Alison Nagel (F, 6-3, Sr., Fort Dodge, Iowa / St. Edmond) racked up 34 points in two losing efforts for Southwest Minnesota State this weekend versus Upper Iowa and Winona State. The senior forward finished the weekend with 34 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and a 54.5 shooting percentage on 12 of 22 shooting. Nagel is averaging 17.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season.
ST. CLOUD STATE - The St. Cloud State University women’s basketball team hosted Minot State University and the University of Mary this past weekend. The Huskies were on a roll on Friday, shooting 57% from the field and knocking down a record-setting 16 three-point baskets in the contest. The Huskies took down the Beavers in a 92-85 final score. Sam Price (Eau Claire, Wis.) led all players with 25 points (ties career-high), shooting five of eight from three-point range and making all four shots at the line. Price also dished out five assists. The St. Cloud State University women’s basketball team took on the University of Mary on Saturday in Halenbeck Hall. Offensively, the Huskies picked up where they left off in Friday’s victory over Minot State, this time scoring 100 points to the Marauder’s 80 at the final buzzer. St. Cloud State improved to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in the NSIC.
Senior guard Sam Price (Eau Claire, Wis.) reached a milestone on Saturday as she surpassed 1,000 career points. Price became the 27th player in SCSU school history to reach this mark and the most recent since Talisha Barlow in 2011. Price went nine of 19 from the field, drained three shots from behind the arc, and hit seven of seven free throw attempts. She finished with 28 points, marking her new career-high, previously set at 25. Price went a combined 17 of 30 from the field, 11 of 11 from the line and eight of 16 from behind the arc over the weekend. She scored 53 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out 8 assists. St. Cloud State will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 21 as they travel to Duluth, Minn. for a 2 p.m. tipoff vs. the Bulldogs.
UPPER IOWA - Whitney Kieffer (G, 5-9, Jr., Scales Mound, Ill.) averaged 29 points a game while leading the Peacocks to a pair of NSIC wins against South Division opponents. The 5-9 guard shot 60.5% (23-38) from the field including a pair of three-pointers. Kieffer’s 35 points against Sioux Falls on Saturday topped her previous career-high of 31. The Scales Mound, Illinois product averaged 7 rebounds and 2 assists per game as well.
The Peacocks won both home games this weekend over Southwest Minnesota State (68-60) and Sioux Falls (78-75). In Saturday’s contest, Upper Iowa erased a 10-point deficit with less than nine minutes to play to rally for the victory. While Kieffer was averaging a huge 29 points per game, she got help from sophomore post Carly Pagel. Pagel averaged 12 points and 4.5 rebounds, while Sam Thrapp ran the point and averaged 9 points and 5.5 assists. UIU shot 45.9% from the field and 45% from behind the three-point line. The team also racked up a big advantage on the glass with 86-62. Upper Iowa will be on the road this week at Winona State on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 4 p.m. The Peacocks defeated the Warriors 66-58 to open the NSIC season in Fayette on Nov. 30.
WAYNE STATE - Jordan Spencer, a 5-11 junior forward from Omaha (Millard West HS), averaged 18 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in helping the #17 Wildcats split games against #12 Minnesota State and #25 Concordia-St. Paul. Spencer accounted for 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting Friday night in a 79-64 win over #12 Minnesota State and added a game-high 19 points to go with six rebounds Saturday night in a 57-54 setback to #25 Concordia-St. Paul. For the weekend, Spencer was 15 for 32 (.469) from the field and 6 of 9 at the free throw line for the 11-1 Wildcats.
WINONA STATE - Abby Busch, Sr., Fr., 5-10, Fairfax, Minn. (G-F-W) averaged 15.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while helping pilot the Warriors to victories over Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State last weekend. Busch continued her strong senior season, shooting 50 percent (10-of-20) on the weekend while also going 90 percent (9-of-10) from the free throw line. Busch began the weekend with 18 points and four boards in a victory over Sioux Falls. She connected on seven of eight attempts at the free throw line, helping the Warriors secure the victory late with clutch foul shots. Busch added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists the next night to lead WSU past Southwest Minnesota State. She was 5-of-9 from the floor on the day to help WSU post a big win over the Mustangs and complete the weekend sweep.
Past NSIC Players of the Week
11/11/13 - Jordan Spencer - WSC
11/18/13 - Carly Boag - MISU
11/25/13 - Hannah Rutten - UMD
12/2/13 - Jordan Spencer - WSC (2)
12/9/13 - Hannah Rutten - UMD (2)
12/19/13 - Anika Whiting - CU