For Immediate Release
Monday, Feb. 10, 2014
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 had another huge weekend on the offensive end as she averaged 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in the two wins over USF and SMSU. She hit an impressive 61.3% (19-31) of her shots from the floor and buried 92.3% (12-13) of her attempts from the charity stripe. On Friday, Whiting hit a milestone as she scored a career-high 31 points on 12-17 shooting and 7-7 from the free throw line. She also pulled in nine boards and dished out three assists.This marks the third time this season Whiting has been named NSIC Player of the Week 12/16/13 & 1/20/14).
2013-14 NSIC Women’s Basketball Notes
AUGUSTANA -#3 Shaunteva Ashley (G, 5-8, Jr., Sioux Falls, S.D. / Roosevelt HS) became the 28th player to score 1,000 points in school history over the weekend in two Viking wins. Ashley broke the 1,000-point barrier on Friday in a 80-71 win over Winona State. The former Roosevelt High School standout scored 18 points and dished out five assists in the victory over the Warriors, all 18 points coming in the second half. Ashley poured in a game-high 25 points and pulled down five rebounds in a 97-75 win over Upper Iowa. For the weekend, Ashley averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 66.7 FG% (12 of 18), 55.5 3PT% (5 of 9). 100 FT% (14 of 14).
#15 Riley Nordgaard (G/F, 5-10, So., Canby, Minn. / Canby HS) displayed her all-around game this past weekend in two Augustana victories. Nordgaard finished with eight points, 11 rebounds, and three steals in the win over Winona State on Friday night. The sophomore exploded on Saturday, putting up nearly a quadruple-double in the victory over the Peacocks, finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, eight steals, and two blocks. The assists, steals, and blocks all career highs. Nordgaard finished the weekend averaging 13 points, 11 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 5.5 steals, 1.5 blocks in the two victories.
BEMIDJI STATE - The Beavers went 0-2 in an NSIC home weekend Feb. 7-8, falling to Minot State (receiving votes), 74-66 and U-Mary, 71-67. Bemidji State has lost seven straight games and owns an 8-14 overall record with a 4-14 NSIC mark. In the seven-game skid, five of the games have been decided by 10 or less points. BSU concludes the home portion of its regular season schedule Feb. 14-15 when it hosts Minnesota State (No. 23 in Feb. 4 national poll) and Concordia-St. Paul (receiving votes in last week’s national poll). The Beavers are 13-25 all-time and 1-4 in the last five meetings against MSU, which includes an NSIC Tournament first round loss in Mankato, Minn. last season, 94-77. Last time at home against the Mavericks (Jan. 20, 2012), BSU won 72-71 on a pair of free throws with two ticks left. The Beavers are 11-25 all-time against the Golden Bears and have lost the last 10 meetings dating back to 2007. Last season BSU fell on the road 76-57.
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - Anika Whiting (F, 6’2”, Jr., Ashland, Wis. / Ashland HS) had another huge weekend on the offensive end as she averaged 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in the two wins over USF and SMSU. She hit an impressive 61.3% (19-31) of her shots from the floor and buried 92.3% (12-13) of her attempts from the charity stripe. On Friday, Whiting hit a milestone as she scored a career-high 31 points on 12-17 shooting and 7-7 from the free throw line. She also pulled in nine boards and dished out three assists.
Concordia-St. Paul (19-6, 14-4 NSIC) swept their fourth straight weekend with a pair of wins over Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State. On Friday, Carissa Wolyniec hit three three pointers and scored nine points as she became the 26th member of the 1,000 point club at Concordia and set the school record for career threes with 241. CU fell behind 25-12 in the first half but closed out the half on a 17-3 run to regain the lead 29-28. The second half was all Concordia as the Golden Bears hit 59.3% of their shots after the break and outscored the Cougars 49-33 to cruise to the 78-61 win. On Saturday, CU dominated play down low, outscoring the Mustangs 34-20 in the paint. Concordia wasted no time to get going as they scored the first seven points of the game. The Golden Bears wouldn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the night. Concordia’s post defense held SMSU to just four points in the paint after the half and held them to just 28.0% shooting overall during that span. The Golden Bears went into half holding a 37-28 lead and cruised to a 64-42 win.
UNIVERSITY OF MARY - Linda Murray (C, 6-2, Sr., Fresno, Calif. / Edison HS / Merced CC) posted another impressive weekend while leading the Marauders to a sweep at Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. In the two games she averaged 23.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the floor. The senior forward opened with a 22 point outburst in a 72-65 win at UMC. She was 9-of-13 from the floor, blocked three shots and posted nine rebounds. Murray followed with a season-high 25 points in a 71-67 win over the Beavers. She had two more blocks and nine rebounds in the contest as the Marauders improved to a second-place tie in the NSIC North Division. On the year, Murray is 7th in the NSIC in scoring (17.0) and field goal percentage (51.5), 6th in rebounding (9.4), and 5th in blocked shots (1.29).
MINNESOTA CROOKSTON - Katrina Moenkedick (So., F, Perham, Minn.) averaged a double-double of 15.5 points and 11 rebounds as she put up one of her best weekends of the season for Minnesota Crookston. Moenkedick has been a force this season for the Golden Eagles, scoring in double figures in all but one game (nine points in the other) this season. Moenkedick had a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-18 shooting from the field in a loss to University of Mary Friday. She was 7-of-8 from the charity stripe against the Marauders. Saturday, Moenkedick aided an entire team effort in a huge upset victory of the No. 2 team in the NSIC North Minot State University 74-62. Moenkedick had another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to help the Golden Eagles take down the Beavers. Moenkedick was 5-of-12 from the field.
MINNESOTA DULUTH - UMD suffered a pair of setbacks on the road, including a heartbreaker with free throws in the closing seconds knocking off the Bulldogs Saturday night against MSU-Moorhead. Friday night, Northern State held the Bulldogs to just 32.4 percent shooting in the opening half to hold them off despite a hot-scoring second half (14-of-23 as a squad), led by Katrina Newman’s 15 points. The senior forward led the Bulldogs on the weekend, averaging 23.5 points on 45.2 percent shooting. She was 5-of-9 from beyond the arc including a pair of key threes in Saturday’s 67-70 defeat at the hands of MSU-Moorhead.
Among other noteworthy weeknds for the Bulldogs, senior center Hannah Rutten averaged nearly a double-double on the weekend with 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds for UMD. Freshman forward Kenzie Kane had a career-high 10 points on Saturday against the Dragons, while sophomore forward put together another strong weekend in a pair of starts with 9.0 points per game. The Bulldogs will continue the four-game road trip next week against Upper Iowa and Winona State, a pair of teams that UMD split with last season.
MINNESOTA STATE - No. 23 Minnesota State pushed its winning streak to six this past weekend as it downed Southwest Minnesota State 85-63, behind a 49% shooting effort from the field. The Mavericks followed it up with a 79-52, win over the University of Sioux Falls, behind a 21 point seven rebound performance by senior Karlee Gengenbacher. MSU continued its trend of taking care of the ball, owning a +8.5 turnover ratio this past weekend, jumping its season turnover margin to +7.18, the best margin in the conference by over two turnovers on average. With the wins, the Mavericks finish the regular season with an 11-1 home record.
No. 23 Minnesota State was led by senior Karlee Gengenbacher (Quincy, Ill.) who netted 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. Her best performance of the weekend came in the Mavericks’ 79-52 win over the University of Sioux Falls. Gengenbacher finished the weekend shooting 61% (14-23) from the field, 40% (2-5) from behind the arc and 88% (7-8) from the charity stripe. The senior has started every game she has played in this season and is averaging 11 points per game, while shooting 49% from the field through 22 games.
MSU MOORHEAD - Morgan Zabel (F, 5-10, Sr., Northfield, Minn. / Northfield HS) had an outstanding all-around week for MSUM in helping the Dragons to a 2-0 mark at home. Zabel averaged 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the field and a perfect 100 percent (12-of-12) from the line. Zabel shot 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from three-point range as well. Zabel had 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists during the Dragons’ 74-62 win over St. Cloud State on Friday. A night later, Zabel scored a game-high 24 points to help MSUM outlast Minnesota Duluth, 80-78. Zabel hit 4-of-5 three-pointers in the win over UMD and also had five rebounds and six assists. Zabel, who recently surpassed 1,000 career points, leads MSUM in scoring at 15.9 points per game.
Additional note: MSUM takes a four-game winning streak on the road this week. The four straight wins have helped the Dragons climb back into the top half of the NSIC’s North Divsiion. The Dragons (14-8, 10-8 NSIC are just one game behind Minot State and Mary for second place in the north.
MINOT STATE - #40 Carly Boag (F, 6-2, Sr., Tamworth, Australia / Abbotsleigh) averaged 19.5 points and 16.0 rebounds to help Minot State University split a pair of Northern Sun road games this weekend. Boag scored 22 points and added 15 rebounds in a win over Bemidji State Friday and had 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a loss at Minnesota Crookston Saturday. She hit 15 of 26 shots from the field and added four steals and two assists on the weekend.
Minot State University made second-half runs both nights, winning 74-66 Friday over Bemidji State but coming up short 74-62 at Minnesota Crookston Saturday. The loss Saturday puts the Beavers in a tie with the University of Mary for second place in the NSIC North with 11-7 records with four games to go. #40 Carly Boag continued her rise up the Beavers’ all-time scoring list as she averaged 19.5 points per game over the weekend and is now ranked No. 2 all time. Boag also pulled down an outstanding 16.0 rebounds per game as she upped her season average to 10.1 per game. #22 Katie Hardy (F, 6-0, Jr., Fairview, N.D. / Fairview) hit for 20 points against BSU Friday and averaged 16 points per game and had eight rebounds and seven assists in two games. Minot State finishes its home regular season schedule with the University of Sioux Falls Friday and Southwest Minnesota State Saturday.
NORTHERN STATE - The Northern State University women’s basketball added two more wins this past weekend to their home undefeated streak as they matched up against Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. Northern was able to seek a little revenge after the Huskies stole game one two weeks ago. The Wolves led the majority of each game continuing to shine at what they do best; solid play in the paint and hard fought defense all over the floor. The Wolves will now prepare for a very important road trip as they move to south division play to take on Augustana College and Wayne State. The Wildcats currently sit in first place in both the NSIC south and overall standings, as the Wolves are first in the NSIC north and second in the overall.
#41 Rachel Krogman averaged 19.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game for the Wolves over the weekend in their wins over St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. Krogman also recorded her tenth double-double of the season against the Bulldogs with 24 points and ten rebounds. Rachel shot 55.56% from the floor ans was 9-11 from the free-throw line. Krogman has played well as of late for the Wolves making important contributions in all avenues of her game.
SIOUX FALLS - The USF women’s basketball team faced two of the top teams in the NSIC on the road this weekend and came up empty in both attempts, falling to Concordia-St. Paul 78-61 and No. 23 Minnesota State 79-52. The Cougars struggled offensively in both games as they shot a combined 30.5% from the field in both games including only shooting 27.5% from behind the arc. USF entered the weekend averaging 14.4 turnovers, but had difficulty taking care of the ball as they averaged 20.0 turnovers in the two losses. The Cougars Sam Knecht (F, 6-2, Fr., Faulkton, S.D./Aberdeen Central HS) provided an inside presence for USF as she averaged 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 0.5 assists over the weekend. Knecht is second on the team in rebounds and fourth on the team in scoring. The Cougars schedule will not ease up in the later portion of the season as they now travel to North Dakota to take on the No. 5 and 6 teams in the NSIC in Minot State and the University of Mary.
SMSU - Annessa Rosch (G, 5-3, So., St. Cloud, Minn. / Tech) totaled 24 points this weekend to lead Southwest Minnesota State University in scoring in its losses to No. 23 Minnesota State and Concordia St. Paul. In SMSU’s 85-63 loss to MSU, Rosch came off the bench to go 7 of 11 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from behind the arc and scored a career-high 20 points. Rosch finished the weekend 9 of 16, while averaging 12.0 points per game. SMSU (4-18, 2-16 NSIC) will continue its four-game road swing this weekend when the Mustangs travel to North Dakota to battle U-Mary and Minot State. SMSU is just 1-10 on the road this season.
ST. CLOUD STATE - The St. Cloud State University women’s basketball team competed on the road this weekend. The Huskies first traveled to Minnesota State University Moorhead. St. Cloud State fell to the Dragons 62-74 in Friday night action. St. Cloud State senior guard Sam Price (Eau Claire, Wis.) led all players with 20 points. She scored 15 second-half points and her back to back three’s drew the Huskies to within three points of the Dragons, 41-38 with less than 15 minutes remaining in the game. Senior forward Jessica Benson (Grand Meadow) also scored in double figures as she tallied 13 points and nine rebounds. The Huskies matched-up against Northern State on Saturday. The Wolves outscored St. Cloud State 50-77 at the final buzzer. Jessica Benson led the Huskies with 14 points on six of 10 shooting from the field. Benson grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Rachael Moen (Savage) finished with eight points after hitting two shots from beyond the arc. St. Cloud State will continue their four-game road stand as they travel to Winona State (8-14, 4-14 NSIC) and Upper Iowa (5-17, 4-14 NSIC) for NSIC action on Feb. 14 and 15.
UPPER IOWA - The Peacocks dropped a pair of NSIC South Division games against Augustana College (97-75) and #8 Wayne State (56-29) over the weekend. Whitney Kieffer led the team with 13.5 points and 9 rebounds per game. UIU rebounded from their lowest offensive output on Friday night to post their third highest score of the season on Saturday. The 75 points scored was the most by the UIU offense since their victory over Southwest Minnesota State when they netted 78 on Jan. 18. The Peacocks will return to Dorman Gym for their final four games of the regular season. Upper Iowa will host Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 14 and St Cloud State on Feb. 15
WAYNE STATE - Balanced scoring was the key for the Wayne State women’s basketball team as four players averaged low, double-digit totals in home wins over Upper Iowa and Winona State. Junior backup forward Millie Niggeling and junior guard Ashton Yossi each averaged 12 points per game followed by junior forward Jordan Spencer with 11 points and 7.0 rebounds a contest and senior forward Ellen Hansen with 10 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Spencer and Niggeling each poured in 10 points in Friday’s 56-29 win over Upper Iowa while Ellen Hansen produced a game-high 16 points with six rebounds to lead the 8th-ranked Wildcats in a 91-57 romp over Winona State. Niggeling and Spencer were the only players to score double digits in both games as Niggeling had 10 points Friday vs. UIU and 14 Saturday vs. Winona State while Spencer had 10 against Upper Iowa Friday night and added 12 points with nine rebounds Saturday vs. Winona State.
WINONA STATE - Abby Busch, F, Sr., 5-10, Fairfax, Minn. (G-F-W) averaged 17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in contests against Augustana and Wayne State, becoming just the 16th player in Winona State history to score over 1,000 career points. Busch had a strong weekend for the Warriors, shooting 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from the floor while also making 11 of her 15 free throw attempts. She had three assists, three steals and one block to add to her stat line. The senior opened the weekend with 20 points and eight rebounds against Augustana, going 6-of-13 from the floor. She followed with 14 points and six boards against WSC, crossing the 1,000 point mark early in the opening half.
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)
12/16/13 - Anika Whiting - CU
12/23/13 - Kate Warmack - BSU
1/6/14 - Katrina Moenkedick - UMC
1/13/14 - Sadie Stotesbery - NSU
1/20/14 - Anika Whiting - CU (2)
1/27/14 - Christina Boag - MISU
2/3/14 - Laura Johnson - USF
1/20/14 - Anika Whiting - CU (3)