By: Evan Smegal
TOURNEY WEBSITE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The University of Minnesota Duluth will play for its fifth Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference postseason title after taking down St. Cloud State University 68-50 in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament semifinals on Monday in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Bulldogs, who last won the NSIC postseason championship in 2004, will duel fellow NSIC-North foe Minnesota State University Moorhead for postseason bragging rights tomorrow night at 5:00 p.m. UMD split the season series with MSUM as both clubs defended home court and finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference standings this year.
UMD made the NSIC Tournament title game in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2010, winning four titles.
The Bulldogs moved to 20-10 all-time in the NSIC Tournament and advanced to their first finals since 2010 after this afternoon's 18-point victory over the Huskies. UMD completed the 3-0 sweep over St. Cloud State this season after sweeping the regular season series. This is the second time UMD has grabbed all three games against St. Cloud State as the Bulldogs last accomplished that feat in 2007 when it swept the season series and then defeated the Huskies in the North Central Conference Tournament.
The top-ranked defense in the NSIC showed its true from again as it hindered the Husky offense for the majority of the first half. St. Cloud State scored a total of 14 points in the first two quarters as it shot a woeful 21.7 percent in the half. The Huskies started the game 0-for-6 with five turnovers before converting on their first bucket. The first bucket didn't open the lid on the basket as the Bulldogs kept the defensive lockdown as it stretched to 3-for-18 midway through the second quarter and 5-for-23 by the half.
Meanwhile, UMD capitalized on St. Cloud State's poor shooting as it jumped out to a 29-14 lead at the half. The Bulldogs forced 10 turnovers as four Bulldogs had two steals apiece in the half. UMD had a 11-0 advantage in points off turnovers sparked by sophomore guard Ann Simonet. The native of Brooklyn Park, Minn., jump-started the offense as she was the aggressor scoring all 13 of her points in the opening half when her team needed her. Simonet shot 4-for-6 from the field and 4-for-5 at the charity stripe as she drove the line multiple times as UMD was searching for its own identity on offense. The Bulldogs shot a little better then the Huskies, at 32.3 percent in the first half.
St. Cloud State found its flow offensively in the third quarter but so did UMD. Each team shot over 40 percent as the Huskies outscored the Bulldogs 21-18 in the third. St. Cloud State had the lead down to six but UMD pushed it back to 13 before the quarter's end. The bench stepped up in the second half as the reserves scored 16 points to keep pace with the Huskies. Freshman forward Brooke Olson had 10 points while sophomore guard Payton Kahl tallied nine points from off the bench. Altogether, the UMD reserves shot 53 percent on the day.
The Bulldogs closed out the fourth with a game-high 21 points while shooting 63.2 percent in the quarter. The Huskies never cut the lead below 13 points as UMD had a stranglehold heading towards its seventh title game.
Junior forward Katie Stark set her personal best in rebounds one game after she previously set it. She ended up with a game-high 12 rebounds including two on the offensive end. Stark also knocked down seven points and swiped two steals. Sophomore forward Sarah Grow swatted away three shots.
Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski scored nine points and had seven of the Bulldogs' 16 assists, which was a game-high. Kozlowski moved into 11th all-time on the UMD scoring charts -- with 1,248 points -- as she passed Sue Fiero, Katie Winkelman and Jody Ierino today. The native of New Berlin, Wis., climbed within three assists of passing Fiero (428 assists) for fifth-most dimes in program history.
Nikki Kilboten and Brehna Evans each amassed 10 points each to lead the Huskies on the scoring end. St. Cloud State shot 29.8 percent from the field, the eighth time this season UMD has held a team under 30 percent for the game.