Huskies Outrun Findlay 61-47 Saturday Afternoon
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Findlay (5-7, 1-5 GLIAC) | 14 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 47 |
|
Michigan Tech (8-2, 4-1 GLIAC) | 15 | 16 | 18 | 12 | 61 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team rallied from an early deficit to record a 61-47 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win against Findlay Saturday afternoon in the SDC Wood Gym. The Huskies trailed by seven points in the second quarter, but led 31-28 at the half before outscoring the Oilers 18-7 in the third quarter to pull away.
"I thought the second half was exactly what we were hoping for during the entire game," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kim Cameron said. "I thought our defensive intensity and aggressiveness set the tone for how the rest of the game was going to go. Going into halftime we weren't very happy about how we were defending. We felt like Findlay was getting too many looks close to the basket and that completely changed in the second half. Our communication was better, execution was better, and our post players did a good job defending their guards. Offensively, we attacked the basket better in the second half and got closer the hoop for some layups."
Michigan Tech (8-2, 4-1 GLIAC) struck first on Saturday when redshirt junior Brenna Heise dropped in a jumper at the 8:21 mark of the first quarter. Findlay (5-7, 1-5 GLIAC) then countered with five straight points on a pair of buckets by Haley Horstman to take a 5-2 edge. Redshirt junior Kelli Guy momentarily tied the game at 5-5 on a triple, but the Oilers would score nine of the games next 11 points on their way to a 14-7 advantage with 3:25 remaining in the first period.
However, the Huskies countered with a strong finish to the quarter and grabbed a 15-14 lead with ten minutes in the books. Junior Hannah Stoll started the 8-0 run with a jumper followed by a pair of layups from junior Lindsay Winter and points in the paint courtesy of senior Morgan Anderson. Winter's second shot fell through the hoop right before the buzzer sounded.
The Oilers regrouped between periods and surged back in front with an 8-0 burst of their own to kick off the second quarter. A pair of free throws by Allie Thobe made it a 22-15 score with just under seven minutes to play until halftime. Trailing 25-18 with 6:15 on the clock, Tech engineered a 13-3 run to overtake Findlay going into the intermission. Freshman Baillie McGirk connected on a couple of key baskets to spark the offense followed by a triple from junior Sarah LewAllen to knot the score at 25-25. Heise fired in two jumpers and Guy cashed in a pair of free throws to close the half.
Findlay briefly went back in front 32-31 during the opening moments of the third quarter, but a layup by Anderson at the 6:46 mark put the Huskies ahead for good. The Tech defense limited the Oilers to just three points for the remainder of the third period. Meanwhile, the Huskies' offense went on to put up 18 points during the 10-minute span. Anderson, LewAllen, Guy, Heise, and Winter all produced key points to change the complexion of the game.
Tech enjoyed a 49-35 lead through three quarters and created an even bigger gap in the fourth frame. The Huskies went up by 20 points at 58-38 on an Anderson layup midway through the final period and the Oilers would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
Anderson ended the night with 16 points after connecting on 7 of 10 shot attempts from the field. Guy followed with 11 points and Heise chipped in eight points, five rebounds, and three assists. Winter posted six points, had six rebounds and three assists while Stoll picked up four points and six boards. Sophomore Elizabeth Kelliher had four points, five rebounds, two steals, and added three blocks to the stat sheet.
The Huskies finished the game 24 of 56 from the field (42.9%), 5 for 12 from three-point land (41.7%), and 8 of 11 at the free throw line (72.7%). Tech forced 14 Findlay turnovers and converted them into 19 points in Saturday's win.
The Oilers were paced by Horstman with 14 points and five rebounds followed by Lynsey Englebrecht who tossed in nine points on Saturday. Findlay made good on 17 of 51 shots from the field (33.3%), were 6 of 12 from behind the arc (50.0%), and 7 of 11 at the free throw line (63.6%). The Oilers also had a slight edge in rebounding at 34-33.
The Huskies will be off for the Holiday's and return to the court on Thursday January 5th at GLIAC foe Ashland. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
