PREVIEW: Huskies meet Wildcats Monday night

HOUGHTON, Mich. - With wins in six of their first seven games, the No. 23 ranked Michigan Tech women's basketball returns to SDC Gymnasium Monday at 5:30 to face rival Northern Michigan. The Huskies are coming off a pair of victories in the Dakotah Bank Classic over Minnesota State Moorhead (W, 65-53) and Northern State (W, 81-69). Saturday afternoon, the Huskies defeated Northwood at Riepma Arena 80-73.

Michigan Tech defeated Northern Michigan twice in the regular season last year. 

Note: A correction in this story has been made to reflect the Huskies and Wildcats have played 102 times since 1976.

LAST TIME OUT

• The lead changed hands 21 times and Michigan Tech came out on top 80-73 against Northwood University Saturday afternoon at Riepma Arena. Ellie Mackay scored 25 points and Alex Rondorf posted 15 points and eight rebounds to help the Huskies to their third straight victory. Tech shot 42-percent and turned over the basketball just eight times to win on the road in their first conference affair of the season. Katelyn Meister, Clara Johnson, and Sloane Zenner added nine points apiece.
• Northwood held a 21-18 edge in the first quarter, but the Huskies played a strong second quarter to lead 38-36 at halftime. The Timberwolves countered to tie the score after three quarters but Tech finally drew four-point separation 71-67 with 3:!7 left in regulation. Mackay assisted on Rondorf's jump shot with 2:55 to play after a missed layup by Northwood. Meister made a block in the lane with 32 seconds left and the Huskies made a series of free throws to ice the game.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• Sophomore guard Makaylee Kuhn leads the 'Cats in several statistical categories, most notably points with 97 in the last six games 
• Forward Emily Mueller, also appearing for the Wildcats, continues to be a force defensively, averaging 7.0 defensive rebounds a game
• Northern ranks in the top ten for rebound margin in the NCAA Division II for an average of 42.2 per game.
• Freshman guard Kayla Tierney, is third among her team in points with 31 points so far this season.
• NMU and MTU have competed against each other 39 times. Their last face off was in February 2021 where the Wildcats fell short to the Huskies.

MACKAY LEADS THE WAY

• Junior guard Ellie Mackay averages a team high 14.7 points per game in 30.9 minutes for the Huskies. Mackay is shooting 41.1-percent overall and 26.9-percent from the 3-point line. With Jordan Ludescher out of the lineup, Mackay also leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per contest to go with 1.5 assists, and 0.6 steals.
• Mackay (Junior – Guard) earned WBCA Division II Honorable Mention All-America as well as GLIAC Player of the Year, GLIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, and GLIAC Player of the Week. She started all 22 games and averaged 15.0 points per game with a career-high 31 points at Ferris State on January 30. She also scored the winning basket as time expired to help the Huskies overcome No. 9 Grand Valley State on the road. This is Mackay's fourth season with the Huskies after she began as GLIAC Freshman of the Year.

FRESHMAN IMPRESSION

• Incoming true freshmen include six-foot guard Isabella Lenz (Prescott, Wisconsin) and 5-foot-7-inch guard Maryellen Trewhella (Houghton, Michigan). 
• Lenz has been a positive addition off the Huskies bench. She scored a career high 13 points in 22 minutes against William Jewell on Nov. 14 and shot 5-10. Lenz posted seven points in 18 minutes against Northern State. She is shooting 40-percent from the field and 5-13 from 3-point range (38.5-percent). 

MEISTER INCREASES MINUTES

• Junior guard Katelyn Meister has imcreased her role this season with seven starts and 10.1 points per game (second on team). Meister averages 28 minutes and is shooting an effective 54.2-percent, mostly in the paint.
• Meister (Junior – Guard) started 18 games last season and averaged five points and five rebounds per game. She scored a season-high 13 points at Saginaw Valley State on February 6. This year, she has already been over the 13 point mark on two occasions, with a season high 19 points in a win over Minnesota Crookston on November 19. Meister has hit double-figures four times this fall. Her rebounding numbers so far match her 2020-21 total exactly at 5.0 rpg. 

ANSEL IMPROVES

• Junior Daisy Ansel continues to improve for the Huskies at guard. Ansel posted 11 points last Saturday at Northern State and shot 5-12 in 28 minutes overall. Ansel (Comstock, Mich.) appeared in 25 games as a true freshman at Grand Valley State before transferring to Michigan Tech and redshirting last season. She helped the Lakers reach their fifth straight NCAA Tournament and played 88 minutes averaging 1.4 points and 1.0 rebounds per game.
• She posted a career high 14 points for Tech against Lewis on November 13 and is becoming a reliable ball distributor this season (1.1 assists per game, second on team). 

RONDORF FROM DEEP

• Sophomore guard Alex Rondorf was a notable weapon from outside the arc last season after posting 27 made threes on 63 attempts (42.9-percent). Rondorf played 17 games off the bench for the Huskies and scored at a clip of 8.0 points per contest. 
• This year, Rondorf has increased her workload from 22.1 minutes to 29.1 minutes and has started all seven games. She is also ahead of her 2020-21 points average, going from 8.0 ppg to 10.1 through the early part of the season. Rondorf is also shooting 36.4-percent from long range.

HUSKIES RANKED NO. 23 IN THE NATION

• Michigan Tech women's basketball was ranked No. 23 in this week's Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II National Top 25 poll, announced Tuesday.
• Last season, the Huskies topped out at No. 6 in the national rankings and reached the NCAA Division II Midwest Region semifinals. MTU appeared in the WBCA Top 25 Poll six times in 2020-21.

REIGNING CHAMPS

• Michigan Tech women's basketball returns in 2021-22 as the reigning Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament champions. Head coach Sam Clayton begins her fourth season as head coach after capturing the GLIAC Regular Season North Division title and making a trip to the NCAA Midwest Region Semifinals.
• The Huskies bring a mix of experience and youth and are led in part by captains Ellie Mackay (Novi, Michigan), Jordan Ludescher (Glen Flora, Wisconsin), and Katelyn Meister (Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin). All three were integral starters and will likely share a heavy workload this season following the departure of seniors Baillie McGirk and Cassidy Trotter.
• Tech finished 20-2 overall, including 17-1 in the GLIAC and unseated perennial powerhouse Ashland in the conference championship 74-63. The Eagles got their revenge in Springfield, Missouri when they edged the Huskies 74-65 in the NCAA Tournament.

2021-22 GLIAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON RANKINGS

North

1. Michigan Tech 56 (8)

2. Ferris State 44 (3)

     Parkside 44

4. Northern Michigan 42

5. Purdue Northwest 23

6. Lake Superior State 16

South

1. Grand Valley State 44 (9)

2. Northwood 35 (2)

3. Wayne State 33

4. Saginaw Valley State 29

5. Davenport 15