Duluth, Minn. – The No. 15 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs hosted the St. Cloud State Huskies in their home and NSIC conference opener. After leading at halftime, the Bulldogs would stumble late as the Huskies win 60-54.
 
The Bulldogs came out in the first half firing on offense. For the half, they shot 13-24 from the field (54.1%). After a high scoring 18-17 first quarter, the Bulldogs defense also stepped up, limiting the Huskies to just 8 points on 3-16 (18.75%). shooting in the second quarter. The Huskies did not attempt a single free throw in the first half while UMD was 5-5 from the free throw line. Going into halftime, the Bulldogs lead by 8 at a 34-26 lead.
 
In the second half, St. Cloud State fought their way back into the game. The Bulldogs led by as much as 11 points in the third quarter before the Huskies stormed back. The Huskies scored 7 straight points to get the game to within 4 points. From there, teams battled and traded points as the Bulldogs took a 46-42 lead into the fourth quarter. In the fourth, the Huskies continued their momentum as they managed to tie the game up at 48-48 with 7:53 left in the game. Teams continued to battle and trade points until the Huskies took a 54-51 lead with just over two minutes left in the game. Brooke Olson would hit a three pointer to tie the game at 54-54 with 1:30 left. From there, the Huskies managed to close out the Bulldogs as UMD went cold on the offensive end and couldn't hit a shot to keep them in the game. In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs shot just 3-11 from the field. Overall, in the second half, the Bulldogs would not get to the foul line once as the Huskies managed to go 15-19 from the foul line in the second half.
 
The Bulldogs were led by Brooke Olson who led the team with 22 points. Taytum Rhoades, Kaylee Nelson and Madelyn Granica combined for 18 points off the bench for the Bulldogs. Maesyn Thiesen led the team with 5 rebounds and led the team with 9 assists on the night. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 21-47 (44.7%) from the field and 7-18 (38.9%) from three-point range. They also went 5-5 from the foul line. The Bulldogs were outrebounded 38-23 in favor of St. Cloud State.
 
St. Cloud State was led by Nikki Kilboten who had a game high 24 points. Brehna Evans also added 15 points on the night. Kilboten led the team with 12 rebounds while Tori Wortz led the team with 4 assists. Overall, the Huskies shot 20-58 (34.5%) from the field and 5-20 from three-point range (25%). They also shot 15-19 from the foul line (78.9%).  
 
Who's Next
The Bulldogs will be back in action as they will host Northern Michigan on Saturday November 27^th at 2:00 pm.