PREVIEW: Huskies head downstate this week

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Following a win over Wisconsin-Parkside Thursday and a postponement Saturday, Michigan Tech is off to the lower peninsula to face Wayne State on Thursday, January 13 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball. The game will be broadcast on Mix 93.5 FM. Fans are not permitted at Wayne State due to Covid-19 protocols through the remainder of January.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Huskies stopped a three-game slide against the Rangers 93-76 after Ellie Mackay constructed a career-high 36 point performance at SDC Gymnasium. Mackay's total was just one point shy of the Huskies single-game point record (37). She shot 14-for-21 from the field with six rebounds in the best offensive outing of the season for Tech, which shot 50.7-percent from the field, including 37.5-percent from beyond the arc. 
• Alex Rondorf played well on both ends of the floor with 18 points (8-for-14), seven rebounds, and three assists. Sara Dax pitched in 12 points and five boards.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS

• Wayne State's game at Lake Superior Stat set for last Saturday was postponed. The Warriors held Ferris State to 45 points on January 6 with a 60-45 win in Big Rapids. It was the Warrior's biggest victory of the season and their seventh straight win at Jim Wink Arena. 
• Kate Sherwood (Canton, Michigan) carried the scoring load with 25 points, while adding three rebounds and three assists. She shot 9 of 15 from the field, marking the 17th time in the last 22 games Sherwood made it to double digits. Sam Cherney also had 12 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. It was her fifth double-double of the year.
• Sherwood leads the team with 12.8 points per game along with 4.8 rebounds. Cherney averages a double-double of 11.6 points and 11.6 rebounds. She also has 27 blocks.
• Becca Fugate has started all 10 games and averages 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds. She led the squad with 34 triples last winter.
• Last season, the Warriors finished 12-8, 11- 7 GLIAC and defeated Lake Superior State 81-63 in the GLIAC quarterfinals before bowing out to Saginaw Valley State in the semifinals 69-58. 
• The Huskies last played Wayne State on January 2, 2020 and won in Houghton 69-55. Ellie Mackay recorded 13 points.
• Carrie Lohr is in her 11th year as head coach and held a 160-119 record prior to the season opener. She is the school's all-time leader in career victories.

SERIES HISTORY

• Tech is 42-20 all-time versus Wayne State, with the Huskies taking six of the last 10 meetings. 
• The Warriors have notched 12 of those 20 wins on their home floor.  Wayne State is 3-3 in its last six home contests vs. MTU.

FOR THE HUSKIES

• The Huskies average 71.3 points per game (fourth) and allow 64.8 points to opponents (sixth).
• Ellie Mackay (Novi, Michigan) leads the team with 17.9 points per game (third in the GLIAC) and is shooting better than 45-percent from the field, including 35-percent from beyond the arc.
• Alex Rondorf has started all 13 games this season and is averaging 11.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. Both figures are ahead of her 2020-21 pace of 8.0 points and 2.8 rebounds a year ago. Rondorf leads the conference in field goal percentage (.574).
• Jordan Ludescher remains out of the lineup (injury) this season. Ludescher provided a strong post presence last season and was named All-GLIAC Second Team as a 22 game starter. She averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game as a redshirt freshman. Ludescher played only this year's opening game against Lewis and recorded eight points and 22 minutes.
• Katelyn Meister (Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin) totaled 29 total points against Drury and Lindenwood in December. Meister is an efficient shooter, at .563 overall. 
• Daisy Ansel tops the team ranks in both rebounds (5.3 rpg) and assists (2.7 apg). 

HUSKIES NATIONAL RANKS

• The Huskies rank 12th in NCAA Division II for field goal percentage at 46.6-percent. Through 13 games, Tech has converted 379 of 813 shot attempts.
• The Huskies rank 24th in the nation with a 77.4-percent free throw percentage (103-for-133). 

MACKAY EARNS GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• North: For the first time this season and the third time in her Husky career, junior guard Ellie Mackay (Novi, Michigan) has been named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division Player, announced on Monday (Jan. 10). She has four games with 20 or more points and has crossed the 30 point mark twice in her career.
• Last season, Mackay earned numerous accolades, including WBCA Division II Honorable Mention All-America, GLIAC Player of the Year, All-GLIAC First Team, and GLIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player. She has also been All-GLIAC Second Team (2020-21) and GLIAC Freshman of the Year (2018-19).
• South: Senior guard Kate Sherwood (Canton, Mich.) played 79 of the 80 minutes as WSU battled two GLIAC unbeaten squads on the road.
• WSU lost 69-67 on a buzzer-beater at SVSU on Jan. 2, then posted a 60-45 triumph at Ferris State. Sherwood scored 43 points (21.5 PPG) on 15-of-26 shooting (58 percent), including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. She was a stellar 9-for-11 (82 percent) from the charity stripe while adding nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

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 by captains Ellie Mackay (Novi, Michigan), Jordan Ludescher (Glen Flora, Wisconsin), and Katelyn Meister (Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin). All three were integral starters and shared a heavy workload this season prior to Ludescher's injury after the departures 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