Big Second-Half Surge Lifts Tech over LSSU 72-43 in GLIAC Semifinal

HOUGHTON, Mich. - The Michigan Tech women's basketball team finished the game on a 36-5 run to earn a 72-43 GLIAC Tournament Semifinal victory over Lake Superior State tonight at the SDC Gym. The Huskies (28-2) trailed 38-36 with 13:00 remaining but clamped down defensively and held the Lakers (15-13) without a field goal for a 12-minute span down the stretch.

"We executed the game plan much better in the second half," said head coach John Barnes. "The crowd was unbelievable, and they really gave us some energy."

Sam Hoyt was perhaps the catalyst of Tech's second half surge. The 5-5 true freshman hit a left-handed runner at the end of the shot clock with 14:30 to tie the game at 33. Katie Wysocky's 3-point play on the next trip put the Huskies on top for first time since 3-0 at 36-35. LSSU answered with a three-point play of its own.

That's when Tech started the run. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Katie Zimmerman had the crowd of 1,812 rocking. Hoyt then added a 3-pointer and a sweet assist to Danae Danen on consecutive possessions for 47-38 advantage with 9:39 to play.

It took two free throws from Lake Superior State's Nicole Marshall at the 7:35 mark to snap a 17-0 Huskies' run. Tech continued to pour it on with two more Hoyt triples in the final four minutes to push the gap to as many as 31.

Five Huskies scored in double figures led by Wysocky's 17. The recently-tabbed GLIAC Player of the Year added a game-high 14 rebounds and three blocks. Danen posted 13 points, seven boards and four blocks.

Hoyt, Sarah Stream and Zimmerman all notched 11 points.

"Sam was great," said Barnes. "She was aggressive and made good decisions. I can't say enough about her play being a true freshman in the situation."

Tech started slowly, turning the ball over four times in its first six possessions. Still, LSSU was only able to lead by as many as four in the frame. Maria Blazejewski's 3-pointer with :34 remaining gave the visitors a 28-24 edge before Stream closed the half with a 12-foot, pull-up jumper.

The Lakers went 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes. They finished the contest at 5-of-10 from long range and 16-of-51 overall (31 percent) from the field.

The Black and Gold dominated the glass with a 37-20 rebounding advantage. The Huskies shot 53 percent from the field including 8-of-17 from behind the arc.

Michigan Tech will play in its third straight GLIAC Tournament Championship game tomorrow at 7 p.m. The Huskies will face Northern Michigan, which defeated Findlay 71-64 in the second semifinal.

Notes: Wysocky moved within 18 points of setting the school's career scoring record. She now has 1,839 in her career … Tech's eight blocked shots was one shy of a GLIAC Tournament record … The Huskies are now 27-16 all-time in GLIAC Tournament games.