Huskies Win GLIAC Opener Against Malone on Thursday
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Malone (4-1, 0-1 GLIAC) | 24 | 24 | 48 |
|
Michigan Tech (2-2, 1-0 GLIAC) | 24 | 29 | 53 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team opened GLIAC play by defeating previously unbeaten Malone 53-48 on Thursday (Dec. 5) night from the SDC Gym. Three Huskies scored in double figures and Tech held the Pioneers—a team that was averaging more than 80 points per game—to only 24 points in each half.
Up one with 6:45 left, Mackenzie Perttu scored five straight points to give Tech a 50-44 lead. Kerry Gardner added a free throw before Malone's Leslie Raifsnider and Lindsy Snyder made layups to cut Tech's lead to three with 57 seconds left.
Danielle Blake sealed the win for the Huskies with a pair of free throws with 15 ticks left. She then blocked a Pioneer 3-point try before the final buzzer.
"We won this game on the defensive end," Tech coach Kim Cameron said. "To allow a team like that to only score 24 points in each half was awesome. We focused on defense for the last two weeks and I'm proud of our effort tonight."
Tech (2-2, 1-0 GLIAC) went on a 12-3 run to begin the second half after the game was knotted up at 24 and led by as many was 12 with 13:58 left. Malone cut the game down to one, making it 45-44 after a 17-6 run.
Blake finished with her first career double-double, scoring 12 points and adding 11 rebounds. She also had two assists, two blocks and two steals.
Kylie Moxley scored a team-high 14 points, shooting 6-for-11 from the field while adding seven rebounds. Perttu finished with 13 points, all in the second half.
"At the beginning I thought Dani Blake did a great job and Mackenzie Perttu was very good down the stretch," Cameron added.
Tech shot 36 percent from the floor on 21-for-59 shooting. The Huskies made 5-of-6 (83 percent) from the free throw line and outrebounded Malone 42-34.
Malone (4-1, 0-1 GLIAC) shot 35 percent from the floor and 63 percent from the charity stripe. Snyder was also in double figures for the visitors with 13 points.
Tech led by seven twice in the first half, but a layup by Malone with 39 seconds left tied it at 24. Reale scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the opening frame.
The Huskies finish the weekend on Saturday (Dec. 7) with a 1 p.m. tip against Walsh. The Cavaliers fell 76-74 at Northern Michigan on Thursday.