ST. CLOUD, Minn. – It took some late game defensive heroics from Connor Nagle and a clutch offensive performance from Alexis Foley, but the Winona State women's basketball team came away with a 64-61 victory against St. Cloud State Friday night in Halenbeck Hall.

Foley scored a game-high 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, including a clutch 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.
 
The Warriors got off to a slow start in this one, as the Huskies were able to jump out to an early 10-5 lead on a Carley Jeffrey three-pointer from the corner with 17:03 to go in the first half.
 
However, Winona State was able to answer in a big way with an 11-0 run over a 5:27 stretch. It all started with a Jenny Weiland layup with 14:25 to go. From there, the Warriors were able to put the defensive clamps down to jump up to a 16-10 lead on Foley layup with 9:21 to go.
 
The Huskies managed to keep the game close over the next five minutes, not allowing the Warriors lead to stretch to more than five and made it a two point game with a jumper with 4:05 to go to make it 26-24 WSU.
 
However, Winona State was able to finish the half strong with an 8-1 run to take a 34-25 lead into the halftime locker room.
 
Despite having a nine-point halftime lead, the Warriors had opportunities to stretch the lead, going just 9-of-17 from the charity stripe in the first half.
 
However, the WSU defense more than made up for the struggles from the free throw line, holding the Huskies to just 30 percent shooting as the Warriors were able to knock down 43 percent of their shots.
 
Winona State also had to survive some early foul trouble as well. Four starters had two fouls in the first half, but the Huskies shared the same problem as they had five players with two fouls as well.
 
Winona State's bench was clutch in the first half coming in for the foul-plagued starters, scoring 22 of WSU's 34 points, including Weiland's career-high 13 and six points from Kayla Timmerman.
 
Much like the first half, Winona State got off to a rough start to the second half. St. Cloud State went on a 14-5 run over the first 4:26 to tie the game at 39 all.
 
However, Foley came through on the following possession with a three-pointer to retake a 42-39 lead for the Warriors.
 
WSU was able to stretch the lead to as much as eight on a Nagle three-pointer with 11:38 to go to stretch the lead to 51-43, but that would be the largest lead the Warriors would have for the remainder of the game.
 
The rest of the half would be fought tooth-and-nail between both squads. The Huskies were able to keep the game close with a 10-2 run to tie the game up at 53 with 6:27 to go.
 
St. Cloud State was able to take their first lead a few minutes later when SCSU's Chelsea Nooker knocked down two free throws with 2:11 to go to make it 61-60. It was the Huskies first lead since the 12:26 mark of the first half.
 
However, the Warriors answered on the other end as Foley's ability to drive to the basket and draw a foul. She was able to knock down two clutch free throws to give Winona State a 62-61 lead yet again.
 
Both teams would trade empty possessions for almost the remainder of the half and it appeared as though the Huskies were going to get an opportunity at a game-winning shot with five seconds to go.
 
Cue Nagle. The junior point guard was able to pick off a lob pass from the sideline for her third steal of the game and draw a foul with 2.7 seconds left. She would later knock down two free throws to expand Winona State's lead to 64-61.
 
The Huskies half-court heave would miss and the Warriors would walk away with the victory.
 
Foley and Weiland were the only two Warriors to score in double-figures, but they still got big defensive performances out of Timmerman and Foley. Timmerman recorded nine points and 10 rebounds, nine defensive, as well as blocked two shots. Nagle scored seven points, but dished out five assists and had three steals to lead the Warriors in both categories.
 
It was Winona State's first road victory of 2015, as the last time the Warriors won on the road was in a 65-47 victory over Upper Iowa on Dec. 20.

Winona State (16-5, 12-5 NSIC) will look to make it a road winning streak as they will take on Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium in Duluth.