ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team picked up a pair of big MIAC wins last week, and Niki Fokken was right in the middle of all of it.
Fokken, a sophomore forward for the Blazers, recorded a double-double Wednesday to help CSB to an overtime win against Macalester – the 500
th MIAC win in program history. Saturday, she scored in double digits for the second straight game to help the Blazers to a huge 64-44 win over Concordia.
For her big week, Fokken has been named the CSB Athlete of the Week.
Fokken’s biggest game of the week came in a milestone win for Blazer basketball. She scored 17 points and recorded career-highs with 12 rebounds and recorded six blocked shots to help CSB beat Macalester 63-56 in overtime. The win not only helped the Blazers stay near the top of the MIAC, it also marked the 500
th conference win in program history. CSB is just the third women’s basketball team in the MIAC to reach 500 conference wins.
Following her double-double Wednesday, Fokken added 10 points, four rebounds and two steals to her stat line Saturday in a 64-44 win over Concordia – the Blazers’ biggest win to date. The win against the Cobbers – who were 4-1 in the MIAC heading into the game – put Saint Benedict in a five-way tie for second at 4-2 and provides some much-needed momentum heading into a five-game road trip.
Fokken, a 6-foot-3 Oronoco, Minn., native, finished the week averaging 13.5 points, seven rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. She currently leads the team in scoring (9.8), rebounding (7.2) and total blocks (22). She’s 10
th in the MIAC in rebounds per game and fifth in the league with 1.7 blocks per game.
Fokken has hit double digits in scoring six times this season and has two double-doubles. She set a career-high with 18points Nov. 23 at Martin Luther, and 12 rebounds and six blocks against Macalester were also career highs.
Fokken and the Blazers are on the road for five straight games starting Wednesday, Jan. 13, when they travel to St. Paul, Minn., to take on No. 9 St. Thomas at 7 p.m.
