BOX SCORE
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Abby Kenealy recorded her second double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to lead Southwest Minnesota State to a 66-44 victory over St. Cloud State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference basketball on Friday.
The win for SMSU (15-8, 9-7 NSIC) was its first in St. Cloud since the 2003-04 season and is its third straight victory over the Huskies in the series. The 44 points are the fewest allowed by SMSU this season.
The 15th victory for the Mustangs is the program's highest since the 2004-05 team won 19 games and is the second highest since the 2002-03 season. The victory also moves SMSU into a tie for sixth in the NSIC standings with Winona State.
Megan Stadler dished out a game-high 10 assists and now has amassed 143 this season, two shy of tying the school single-season record of 145 held by Michelle Bruns (2004-05).
Tori Fink (13) and Lucia Puchelova (12) also scored double figures for SMSU, which finished the night shooting 43.5 percent (27 of 62) from the field and held a 47-41 rebound advantage. It was the second straight game Puchelova has scored double figures and the sixth this season.
The Mustangs started the game red-hot connecting on nine of their first 10 shots to build a 22-8 lead with 13 minutes left in the opening half. SMSU then went over seven minutes without scoring until Megan Stadler completed a conventional three-point play with 5:52 left to give SMSU a 25-11 lead.
SMSU extended the lead to 34-17 with 1:34 left in the half following back-to-back baskets by Lucia Puchelova, including a 3-pointer. SCSU (8-15, 3-13 NSIC) scored the final three points of the half to cut the SMSU lead to 34-20 at halftime.
Fink led the Mustangs with nine first half points on 4 of 6 shooting, while Kenealy added seven points and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. SMSU shot 46.4 percent (13 of 28) in the first half and limited SCSU to just 25.7 percent (9 of 35) shooting in the half, including 1 of 10 from 3-point range.
The Huskies trimmed the lead to 40-27 with 16:37 left in the game, but SMSU answered with an 8-0 run to push the lead to 48-27 with 13:54 remaining in the contest to put the game away and cruise to its second straight victory.
Aaryn Booker led SCSU with 14 points on 7 of 11 shooting.
SMSU will continue its weekend road trip tomorrow night facing No. 22 and NSIC-leading Concordia University in St. Paul starting at 6 p.m. The Golden Bears are also ranked No. 2 this week's NCAA Central Region rankings. CU defeated Minnesota State 72-59 on Friday night.
