WINONA, Minn. – Winners of two straight, and three of their last four, the Winona State Warriors hit the road this weekend for games in Duluth and St. Cloud. Tipoff against the Duluth Bulldogs is set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday with the finale scheduled for 3:30 p.m. against the Huskies on Saturday.
Winona State (10-8, 8-6 NSIC) recorded its first conference sweep last weekend with wins over SMSU and Sioux Falls. Junior Gabie Doud was named the NSIC South Women's Basketball Player of the Week for her efforts. Doud matched her career high of 27 points, including 20 in the second half, against SMSU and followed up with nine points and a career-best 11 rebounds against USF.
Doud leads the Warriors this season in scoring (11.1 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (5.7). Seniors Kayla Schaefer (11.0) and Rachel Novotny (10.4) round out the scoring leaders, followed by sophomores Emily Kieck (9.6) and Allie Pickrain (9.4). Novotny is averaging a team-high 7.4 rebounds/game and Taylor Hustad ranks third with 5.3 per game.
Winona State is out of the best rebounding teams in the conference, ranking fourth in the NSIC in rebounding defense (34.5/game). The Warriors have also cleaned up the offensive glass plenty this season, averaging 11.2 offensive boards/game. Winona State ranks fifth in the league in scoring defense (59.2 ppg). The Warriors, who took 50 shots from the charity stripe last weekend, rank fifth in the league in free throw shooting (73.3%).
Following this second-to-last road trip of the season, Winona State returns home to wrap up its current stretch of games against the NSIC North against Minot State and UMary next weekend.
Scouting Duluth
The Bulldogs (12-5, 11-3 NSIC) are currently second in the NSIC North standings. Duluth is 7-1 at home this season and has won five of its last six games overall entering play on Friday. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 63-18, but the Warriors have won four of the last five, and five of the last seven meetings. Duluth won last year's matchup in Winona, 67-58.
The Bulldogs rely heavily on their defense which leads the NSIC by allowing just 54.2 ppg. Offensively, Duluth ranks 13th of 16 teams at 62.5 ppg. The Bulldogs have had success from beyond the arc, shooting 34.7% from three-point range. The Bulldogs' +6.29 turnover margin ranks second in the league as they have committed an NSIC-low 197 turnovers offensively and forced 304 opponent miscues.
Sammy Kozlowski (12.0 ppg) and Sarah Grow (10.2) lead the Duluth offense. Kozlowski also leads the team with 58 total assists and Grow has a team-best 6.2 rebounds/game. Grow's 42 steals rank second in the NSIC.
Scouting St. Cloud
The Huskies (11-7, 8-6 NSIC) are 7-2 at home this season and host Upper Iowa before the Warriors come to town Saturday afternoon. St. Cloud leads the all-time series against WSU, 24-15, but the Warriors have won six of the last seven matchups. The Warriors' lone loss in that span came last season in Winona, 62-55.
The Huskies rank in the middle of the pack in scoring offense (66.7 ppg) and are sixth in the NSIC in scoring defense (59.8); just behind Winona State. St. Cloud also takes care of the ball well on offensive, committing the second-fewest turnovers in the league with 226. The Huskies rank second in the NSIC with 4.32 blocked shots/game.
Tori Wortz (13.4 ppg) and Mallie Doucette (12.6) lead the Huskies in scoring. Nikki Kilboten has a team-best 6.1 rebounds/game and leads the NSIC with 2.6 blocks/game.
