Huskies Complete Second Half Comeback for 10th Win in a Row

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• HIGHLIGHTS
• COACH CAMERON INTERVIEW
• ALBI & PERTTU INTERVIEW

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team had a comeback for the ages and won its 10th game in a row on Thursday (Jan. 16), defeating Ferris State 71-70 at the SDC Gym. The Huskies were down by 16 early in the second half but stormed back, burying nine 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes.

Mackenzie Perttu scored 24 of her career-high 26 points in the second half, and Paige Albi was one shy of a career-high with 16 points, making 4-of-5 from three. The Huskies are now 11-2 overall and 9-0 in the GLIAC.

All knotted up at 65 with 3:00 left, Danielle Blake buried a short corner jumper. Kate Glodowski then stole the inbounds pass and Perttu capitalized with a layup and a four-point (69-65) lead.

Christina Branch scored a layup on the other end, before Perttu made a pair of free throws to extend it back to four with 22 second left.

Den Droste made a three and the Huskies missed two free throws to setup a game-winning chance for the Bulldogs. They got two 3-pointers off, but Kerry Gardner blocked the first one and the second was from four feet behind the line and rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.

"What a win," Tech coach Kim Cameron said. "We made a decision at halftime that we needed to turn it around, and it started with one stop at a time on defense and one shot at a time on offense.

"We got some confidence and calmed down on offense and started to move the ball better. Mackenzie came in and showed the team where the holes in the zone were. She showed a lot of leadership tonight."

The comeback started early in the second half. Ferris made a quick layup for a 16-point lead but 3-pointers by Gardner and Glodowski fueled a run.

The Bulldogs answered with three points but Perttu scored eight straight and the Huskies trailed 46-40 with 12:09 remaining.

Albi hit a three followed by a Blake old-fashioned, three-point play and it was down to two. After three free throws from Ferris, Albi and Perttu hit back-to-back threes with 10:09 remaining, giving the Huskies their first lead since early in the game.

As a team, Tech shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) from the field and made 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) from three. The Huskies connected on 16-of-22 from the free throw line and held a 35-32 rebounding edge.

Blake finished with 11 points while Gardner and Kylie Moxley combined for 10. Glodowski and Kelli Guy each hit 3-pointers in the second half. Albi and Perttu led the team with five rebounds each.

Tech had a slow first half, getting down by as many as 16. A pair of free throws by Albi with a second left cut the margin to 14 (36-22) at the break. The Huskies shot only 30 percent in the half compared to 50 percent from Ferris.

Ferris (4-7, 4-5 GLIAC) finished the game shooting 45.3 percent (24-for-53) from the field and made 5-for-13 (38.5 percent) from behind the arc.

The GLIAC's Preseason Player of the Year Sarah DeShone was held to only 3-for-14 shooting and 10 points, but Dena Droste carried the load for the Bulldogs, scoring 19 points. Christina Branch was also in double figures with 11.

"Dani never gets enough credit for her defense," added Cameron. "She held a top player in our league in check. Sarah DeShone earned all 10 of her points tonight."

The Huskies are back in action on Saturday (Jan. 18) against Grand Valley State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the SDC Gym. The Lakers fell 81-66 at Northern Michigan on Thursday.