Huskies Fall After Late Jumper at SVSU

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team fell victim to a last-second jumper by Shelby Herrington and were defeated 63-62 at Saginaw Valley State on Saturday (Jan. 25) afternoon from James E. O'Neill Arena. The Huskies have now dropped two straight and are 12-4 overall and 10-2 in the GLIAC.

Paige Albi gave Tech a 62-61 lead with eight seconds remaining after a driving layup. The Cardinals took the ball out of bounds and Kristen Greene advanced it to Herrington who pulled up just outside of the lane on the right side. She banked it off the glass with six-tenths of a second left.

Tech coach Kim Cameron called a timeout but Albi's three-quarter court pass was deflected out of bounds as the buzzer sounded to snap Tech's 13-game winning streak over the Cardinals.

"We had a slow start to the second half that doomed us," Cameron said. "Our 3-point shooting hasn't been there the last two games and that was another major factor."

SVSU held a 61-58 lead with 65 seconds left after a free throw by Kayla Womack. Kylie Moxley converted a layup to bring the Huskies to within one. On the defensive end, Womack missed a layup and Danielle Blake picked up the rebound.

After a Tech timeout, SVSU used up three fouls to get some time off the clock. Albi caught the ball on the right wing and drove in for the layup that gave the Huskies a late lead.

The Cardinals started the second half on a 9-0 run to take the lead after Tech led 35-31 at the break. Morgan Anderson stopped the bleeding for the Huskies with an old-fashioned three-point play with 15:13 on the clock.

The home team maintained the lead until a 6-0 Tech run with a jumper from Moxley and back-to-back layups from Blake gave the Huskies a 58-55 lead.

SVSU then scored six straight to take the lead back with 1:05 remaining.

Tech shot 40 percent (26-for-65) in the game but connected on only three of its 19 attempts from beyond the arc.

Anderson was a spark off the bench for the Huskies, playing 20 minutes with nine points, four steals and three assists.

"Morgan really gave us a chance in the second half," added Cameron. "She was getting her hands on balls on defense and stayed aggressive offensively."

Blake led the Huskies in scoring with 14 points, 10 of them coming in the first half. She also had nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Kylie Moxley was the other Husky in double figures with 10 points. Mackenzie Perttu and Paige Albi combined for 17 points.

SVSU finished 19-for-35 from the floor but made 11 more free throws than the Huskies. The Cardinals also had an edge in rebounding, 42-35.

Katelyn Carriere 917), Samantha Zirzow (16), Womack (12) and Greene (12) all scored in double figures for the Cardinals. Zirzow, Herrington and Greene also added eight rebounds each.

The Huskies host Northwood and Lake Superior State next weekend at the SDC Gym.