Huskies Suffer 79-70 Setback at Ferris State

• Box Score

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team came up short at Ferris State 79-70 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest Thursday night. The Huskies fell behind by as many as 21-points in the second half, before charging back to get within striking distance down the stretch. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were able to hit some key shots to retain the edge and preserve the win.

"It was another slow start for us tonight," Michigan Tech Head Coach Sam Hoyt said. "I thought our urgency was great in the second half, but we need to start games with that mindset. Hannah Hobson stepped up and hit some big shots for us and I thought Katelyn Meister gave us a great spark off the bench. We'll get back to work in practice tomorrow and prepare to play a good Lake Superior State team on the road Saturday."

Michigan Tech (8-15, 6-10 GLIAC) struck first Thursday night when sophomore Ellie Mackay fired in a triple from the right wing to open the game. Ferris State (17-7, 11-5 GLIAC) countered with the next five points by way of a three-point bucket from Mallory McCartney and an Adrienne Anderson layup just over a minute into the game. The two sides ended up trading baskets during the next 60 seconds, keeping the Bulldogs in front 7-6 with 7:24 to play in the first quarter.

The Huskies then engineered an 8-0 scoring run to create what would be their largest lead of the evening. Senior Abbie Botz powered her way into the paint for a layup followed by a mid-range jumper from Mackay. Junior Cassidy Trotter then generated consecutive layups to cap the run and grant Tech a 14-7 advantage with just over four minutes to go in the first quarter.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs limited Tech to just two points for the rest of the first frame. Zoe Anderson began the rally for Ferris State with back-to-back three-point field goals and then Adrienne Anderson tied the game at 16-16 with 1:46 on the first quarter clock. Anderson pushed the Bulldogs in front with a layup to make it 18-16 going into the second quarter.

Anderson notched the first three points of the second quarter, widening the gap to 21-16. The Bulldogs would eventually outscore Tech 27-15 in the second to carry a 45-31 advantage into the locker room at halftime. Hobson had the Huskies within six points at 37-31 with 1:15 to play in the half, but Ferris State logged the final eight points in the period to grab the momentum. Ellie Hardy closed out the first 20 minutes with a triple right before the buzzer sounded.

The Bulldogs kept things rolling at the outset of the third quarter with Riley Blair tacking on seven straight points. A triple by Blair with 8:17 to go in the third enabled the Bulldogs to build their largest lead of the night at 52-31. Trotter stopped the Ferris State run with a layup at the 7:48 mark of the third period and that helped the Huskies find their footing a bit. Tech ended up outscoring the Bulldogs 17-16 in the third and were still within striking distance at 61-48 heading into the fourth period.

Mackay and senior Ellie Welsh combined for seven straight points in the early stages of the fourth quarter to slice the gap to just eight points at 63-55 with 7:38 to play. However, each time the Huskies were on the verge of closing in further, the Bulldogs would hit some key shots of their own to prevent an extended Tech run. Senior Hannah Hobson knocked down a triple with under 10 seconds to go to make it 77-70, but not enough time remained for the Huskies to draw any closer. Blair wrapped up the contest by cashing in two free throws for Ferris State, resulting in the 79-70 final.

Hobson powered the Huskies with a team high 17 points followed by Mackay with 16 points Thursday night. Trotter tossed in 12 points, dished out nine assists, and grabbed nine rebounds. Welsh ended the evening with eights and Katelyn Meister along with Botz recorded seven points. In addition, Botz matched Trotter in the rebound department with seven boards. The Huskies delivered 27 of 62 shots on target (43.5%), were 10 for 25 from three-point land (40.0%), and 6 of 8 at the free throw line (75.0%). The Huskies combined for 24 assists, produced 25 points off 16 Ferris State turnovers, and had 24 points in the paint.

Adrienne Anderson fired in a game high 24 points followed by Blair with 21 points and a game best eight rebounds and seven assists. Mallory McCartney chipped in 11 points, six rebounds, and six assists to round out the double-digit scorers. As a team, the Bulldogs made good on 25 of 63 shots from the field (39.7%), were 14 of 30 from three-point range (46.7%), and 15 of 17 at the free throw line (88.2%). Ferris State out-rebounded Tech 40-35 and had 15 second chance points.

The Huskies return to the court on Saturday when they travel to Lake Superior State for another GLIAC battle. The Lakers edged Northern Michigan 59-54 at home on Thursday evening. Saturday's tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. eastern time.