Huskies Hold Back Hillsdale for Third Straight Win

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HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team picked up their third straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory Thursday night, topping Hillsdale 68-61 in the SDC Wood Gym. The Huskies trailed by as many as 12 points in the second quarter, but turned things around with a strong third period.

"This was a huge win for us," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kim Cameron said. "Hillsdale is a tough team and they had a lot of confidence coming in off of two big victories last week. We got down early and had to battle back with the difference in the game being the third quarter defense. It was exactly what we needed to do to give us a chance to win. We were able overtake them and made some big shots and key free throws down the stretch to finish the game."

Hillsdale (7-4, 2-3 GLIAC) pulled out in front 5-2 in the opening minutes of the first quarter on a conventional three-point play and layup by Allie Dewire. Michigan Tech (7-2, 3-1 GLIAC) then countered with a 6-0 run to go ahead for the first time Thursday night at the midway point of the first frame. Two jumpers by senior Morgan Anderson and a layup from sophomore Elizabeth Kelliher found the bottom of the net to make it an 8-5 score.

The Chargers fought back to go up 16-10 on another Dewire layup with just over two minutes to play in the first, but the Huskies closed the quarter with the last six points to knot the game 16-16 going into the second period. Redshirt junior Kelli Guy, Kelliher, and junior Sarah LewAllen recorded buckets during the stretch. LewAllen's field goal went through the net right before the buzzer sounded.

Hillsdale dominated the first five minutes of the second quarter, using a 16-4 scoring burst to construct a 32-20 lead with 5:12 to go until the break. Tech prevented the gap from getting any larger and over the next five minutes cut the deficit in half. Down 36-26 with 2:35 left on the second quarter clock, a free throw by Anderson and a Guy layup brought the Charger lead back to within single digits at 36-29. Morgan Blair then connected on a field goal for the Chargers, but Guy dialed in a key triple for the final points of the half, making the score 38-32 through 20 minutes.

The first four minutes of the third quarter proved to be a crucial span of time for the Huskies. Tech came out strong and poured in the first seven points to regain the edge at 39-38. Kelliher, redshirt junior Brenna Heise, junior Hannah Stoll and Anderson combined to provide the points. Julia Wacker momentarily gave the lead back to the Chargers with two free throws, but back to back field goals courtesy of Heise put Tech ahead again 43-40 with 4:42 remaining in the third. The Chargers tied the game again on a layup by Dittmer, but a jumper from Heise to beat the third quarter buzzer pushed the Huskies back in front 45-43. Stoll was credited with the assist on the shot that gave the Huskies the lead for good. Tech's defense limited Hillsdale to just five points in the third frame.

Heise's basket generated the first two points in what would be a 9-0 run for Tech. Anderson capped it with a layup to give the Huskies their largest lead of the game at 52-43 with 8:07 to play. The Chargers didn't go away and made things interesting with a late run that closed the gap to 64-61 with just over a minute to go. However, Anderson found the bottom of the net on a jumper and iced the game away at the free throw line in the 68-61 victory.

The Huskies had great balance again on offense Thursday night with five players ending the contest with 10 or more points. Anderson led the charge with 22 points followed by Kelliher Guy, Heise, and Stoll with 10 points apiece. Stoll just missed matching a career high in points and ended up leading the team with five rebounds. She was 5 for 9 from the field and also dished out a team best four assists in addition to a pair of steals.

As a team, the Huskies were 28 of 62 from the field (45.2%), 2 of 12 from three-point range (16.7%), and 10 of 14 at the free throw line (71.4%). Tech's defense forced 19 Hillsdale turnovers and converted them into 19 points.

Dewire had 27 points to power the Hillsdale attack on Thursday night followed by 10 points and seven rebounds from Makenna Ott. The Chargers wrapped up the night connecting on 23 of 55 shots from the field (41.8%), they were 1 for 12 from three-point range (8.3%), and 14 of 18 at the charity stripe (77.8%). Hillsdale owned a 41-29 advantage in rebounding with 38 points being produced in the paint.

The Huskies will be on their home floor again Saturday when they host Findlay in another GLIAC showdown. The tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.