Huskies Handle Panthers to Secure Home Berth in GLIAC Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Davenport | 10 | 21 | 20 | 13 | 64 |
|
Michigan Tech | 28 | 20 | 30 | 13 | 91 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team won its third-straight game in its final weekend of the regular season, leading wire-to-wire to handle Davenport 91-64 at the SDC Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon.
The Huskies elevate to 15-10 overall and 10-6 in league play, while the Panthers drop to 3-24 overall and 1-16 in the loop. With the win, Tech has clinched a home game to open the GLIAC Tournament next Wednesday.
"We needed to come out with urgency and we did that–I think we played so well because we came out sharp defensively. To have that type of start was good for us and for Alex to hit her first shot to get 1,000 points–none of that hurts," head coach Sam Clayton said. "I am so thrilled for Tessa, she's been playing unreal–her points stand out to everyone, but she's doing everything right–she also had four assists and no turnovers and has come on so strong even in the last couple of weeks and that's what a senior does."
The Huskies set the tone early with Alex Rondorf making a 3-pointer on the first possession, making her the 29th player in program history to score 1,000 points. The Huskies followed that with an and-one by Katelyn Meister and a 3-pointer by Emma Anderson to jump out to a 9-2 edge in 93 seconds played.
"It was a great team win and I think we could have done a little better defensively," Rondorf added. "Defense is going to be a big key going into Saturday but we've got to keep playing how we're playing and we'll be in a good spot."
Tessa Leece made it a 21 point lead at the 4:02 mark in the first quarter with a layup in the paint making it 23-2 although the Panthers would outscore Tech to close the quarter trailing by 18 (28-10).
"We made a lot of strides and growth in the last couple of weeks and we need to keep that rolling," Leece mentioned. "I feel like we came into the game with a lot of aggression and confidence, but we can't let defensive lulls happen moving forward."
The Huskies shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second quarter while earning eight points from the reserves, with Alyssa Wypych and Lydia Schiable accounting for four points as Dani Nuest got a layup with 40 seconds in the half, helping Tech head into halftime with a 48-31 edge.
In the third quarter Michigan Tech held Davenport to just eight points while continuing the high scoring frenzy, shooting 77.8 percent from the field (7-for-9). The Huskies largest lead of the contest came following two free-throws made by Wypych at the 4:30 mark, making it 69-39.
Leece scored seven of her career-high 19 points in the third quarter as the Huskies also got vital minutes from Maja Kozlowska, who scored six points in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Michigan Tech saw nine points from the freshmen group of Wypych, Nuest and Brittney Mislivecek, as the Huskies cruised to a 91-64 victory to complete the series sweep over Davenport.
Tessa Leece led a quartet of players in double-figure scoring with a new career-high 19 points a week after she set a career-high with 18. Katelyn Meister (14 points), Alyssa Wypych (13 points) and Emma Anderson (10 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers. Meister grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds to near a double-double.
Lydia Schaible tied her career-high with seven rebounds to go with six points. Dani Nuest set a new career-high with seven points while dishing out three assists.
Lillee Gustafson led the Panthers with 13 points and five rebounds.
Up Next
The Huskies welcome No. 2 nationally-ranked Grand Valley State to the SDC Gymnasium for Senior Day, Saturday slated for a noon tipoff.
