Huskies Power Past Ferris State for 7th Straight Win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ferris State (13-12,7-10GLIAC) | 14 | 17 | 12 | 20 | 63 |
|
Michigan Tech (21-3,15-2GLIAC) | 21 | 33 | 14 | 12 | 80 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team secured their seventh straight win thanks to an 80-63 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory Thursday night over Ferris State in the SDC Gym. The Huskies used a 17-0 scoring run that started in the final minutes of the first quarter and carried into the second to pull away.
"I thought we had a really good 32 minutes and we are continuing to work on completing games and playing for 40 minutes," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kim Cameron said. "I thought to start with we really had control of the game and to be able to sub and have the bench come in and do their jobs the way that they were was big. I thought it was great that we were able to continue to gain ground with our reserves, which is awesome for all of our players and a huge confidence builder for us.
"Ferris State is a really good team and they can do a lot of things to pick you apart. They can make things difficult and I'm proud of our team and our players especially for the start that we had tonight."
Michigan Tech (21-3, 15-2 GLIAC) fell behind 6-2 to Ferris State (13-12, 7-10 GLIAC) in the early stages of the game, but recovered with an 8-2 run to go in front 10-8 with 5:45 on the first quarter clock. Senior Hannah Stoll got to the rim for the first bucket and then senior's Sarah LewAllen and Kelli Guy dialed in back to back triples to push the Huskies to 10 points.
The Bulldogs eventually slipped back in front when Abby Nakfoor posted a conventional three-point play to make it a 14-12 score with 3:15 remaining in the opening quarter. However, Tech didn't trail for long thanks to a triple by junior Michelle LaFave that found the target from the corner to make it 15-14.
The Huskies' defense kept Ferris State off the board for the remainder of the quarter while the offense tacked on six more points. Sophomore Hannah Hobson drove into the paint for a layup followed by a jumper from Stoll and two free throws courtesy of freshman Cassidy Trotter, extending the gap to 21-14 when the buzzer sounded.
The Huskies kept things rolling to start the second quarter when Stoll took her turn for a three-point play on the opening possession. The layup and free throw gave Tech the first double digit lead of the night at 24-14 and the points were the first of 33 total points in the second period for the Huskies. Senior Brenna Heise delivered a trey followed by a mid-range jumper from Guy to cap the 17-point scoring burst.
The Huskies extended the gap to 21 points at 41-20 on a layup by junior Elizabeth Kelliher and then LaFave was on target again from behind the arc, creating Tech's largest lead of the first half at 50-26 with 1:43 to play until the break. The Huskies eventually carried a 54-31 lead into the locker room with Kelliher recording the final two points of the half on a layup right before time expired.
The two teams traded baskets for the majority of the third quarter. The Huskies engineered their largest lead of the night at 68-41 on a Hobson triple in the final minute of the third. Ferris State made one last charge in the fourth and pulled to within 14 points at 70-56 on a layup by Shaniya Huggins with 5:21 to play. Guy would stop the Bulldogs momentum though a few seconds later when she found the bottom of the net from three-point range, bumping the lead up to 73-56. Ferris State was unable to draw any closer than 14 points the rest of the night.
Michigan Tech featured another balanced attack on Thursday night with five players producing 10 or more points. Kelliher led the charge with 16 points and 13 rebounds on the way to her second double-double of the season. Kelliher was 7 for 8 from the field and made both of her free throw attempts. Guy followed with 15 points and dished out a team high five assists, LaFave added 12 points, Stoll tossed in 11 points, and Hobson chipped in 10 points to round out the double digit scorers.
The Huskies had some impressive team stats as well in the win. Tech made 29 of 57 field goal attempts (50.9%), connected on 9 of 18 shots from behind the three-point line (50.0%), and converted 13 of 15 opportunities at the free throw line (86.7%). The Huskies out-rebounded Ferris State 38-28 while the Tech reserves provided 31 points.
Rachel McInerney generated a game high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Leah Humes contributed 11 points and four assists, but was the only other Ferris State player to surpass the 10-point threshold. The Bulldogs made 25 of 57 shots from the field (43.9%), came up empty on seven shots from three-point range, and were successful on 13 of 21 chances at the free throw stripe (61.9%).
The Huskies are back on the court again Saturday afternoon when they entertain Lake Superior State for another GLIAC contest in the SDC. The Lakers fell at Northern Michigan on Thursday night 60-56. Saturday's tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
