Huskies Stumble at Wayne State

• Box Score

DETROIT, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team fell on the road Thursday night in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Wayne State 50-40. The game was dominated by both defenses as each side struggled to put points on the board.

"I thought both teams played really well defensively and it was unfortunate for us that we had a number of players have off nights on offense," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kim Cameron said. "We had some open looks and I felt like we were taking good shots, but they just didn't fall. We have to get back to work and get ready to play a good Davenport team Thursday."

Wayne State (12-4, 7-3 GLIAC) had a strong start to the game and in the process generated the first eight points. Sara Ruhstorfer got to the basket for a layup at the 6:10 make of the first quarter to make it 8-0. Michigan Tech (14-3, 8-2 GLIAC) then turned the tide for the time being with a 14-2 scoring run to close the first period. Senior Lindsay Winter got the Huskies on the board with a jumper and then followed it up with s steal to setup a jumper by junior Elizabeth Kelliher to make it 8-4 a few seconds later.

Just over a minute went off the clock before Kelliher dropped in a layup and then a triple courtesy of senior Kelli Guy gave Tech the lead for the first time at 9-8 with 2:57 on the clock. The only two points for the Warriors in the final six minutes of the quarter were free throws by Shannon Wilson with 2:35 to play. Winter and sophomore Hannah Hobson teamed up for the final five points of the quarter to give the Huskies a 14-10 edge through 10 minutes.

The Warriors and Huskies combined for just 12 points in the second quarter with eight being recorded by Wayne State to tie the game at 18-18 at the break. Wilson put the Warriors back on top 18-16 with a three-point basket at the 3:59 mark, but with just under a minute to go in the half, senior Hannah Stoll connected on a jumper for Tech to tie it again.

The teams traded baskets at the beginning of the third quarter until Alex Matus dialed in a three-point basket to make it 25-22 in favor of Wayne State with 4:10 on the clock. Wilson bumped the Warriors' lead to 29-24 on two free throws and they were able to maintain a five-point edge at 33-28 heading into the fourth.

Wilson quickly made it a seven-point game at 35-28 on layup 41 seconds into the fourth quarter. Tech clawed back to within three at 37-34 thanks to a layup from junior Michelle LaFave with still plenty of time remaining. Wilson pushed the gap to six points again at 40-34 on a three-pointer by Wilson with 5:21 left in the contest, but Kelliher answered with a conventional three-point play to draw the Huskies to within three again at 40-37 on the ensuing possession.

Just over three minutes went by before the next basket and unfortunately it was a jumper by Wayne State's Nastassja Chambers. Chambers then tacked on six more points following stops by the Warriors' defense in the final minute to make it 48-37 with just 20 seconds left to seal the game for Wayne State.

Kelliher led the Huskies with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocked shots on the defensive end of the floor. It was a season high for both rebounds and blocks, resulting in her first double-double of 2017-18. Winter followed with eight points, nine rebounds, and four assists while Guy chipped in six points and two rebounds. As a team, the Huskies were 16 of 57 from the field (28.1%), 3 of 20 from behind the arc (15.0%), and 5 of 7 at the free throw line (71.4%).

Wayne State was guided by Wilson who produced a game high 22 points while adding 11 rebounds. Chambers picked up 16 points and was the only other player to reach double figures. The Warriors were 16 of 58 from the floor (27.6%), 3 of 14 from three-point range (21.4%), and 15 of 20 at the free throw line (75.0%). The two teams combined for 88 rebounds and Wayne State owned a slight edge with 45.

Michigan Tech will look to bounce back on Thursday when they battle Davenport in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The game was postponed for this Saturday and will be played Thursday starting at 12 p.m. on the campus of Lake Superior State. The Saturday January 27^th game against rival Northern Michigan at home will be moved to Sunday January 28^th in the SDC at 1 p.m.