PREVIEW: Tech closes with three road games in five days

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Tech swept its final home weekend with a 65-54 win over Saginaw Valley State Thursday and a 72-69 overtime victory over Wayne State Saturday. Sara Dax (15.5), Ellie Mackay (13.5), Alex Rondorf (10.5), and Katelyn Meister (10) all averaged double figures. The Huskies are 14-9 overall and 9-6 in the GLIAC and travel to Saginaw Valley State Tuesday, Ferris State Thursday, and Lake Superior State Saturday to wrap up the regular season. 

The Huskies (15-9, 10-6) improved two positions in the GLIAC standings to fifth place. Saginaw Valley State (15-9, 9-7) is tied for sixth. All three road games can be heard on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ.

LAST TIME OUT

• Michigan Tech went wire to wire with Wayne State Saturday afternoon and came out on top in overtime 72-69 at SDC Gymnasium.
• Ellie Mackay got hot in the second half and scored a team-high 20 points, while Sara Dax contributed 19 points off the bench. Mackay also grabbed 10 defensive rebounds for her second double-double this season.
• The Huskies shot 40-percent overall, including 38-percent from long range with 38 rebounds, 12 assists, and 11 steals.

TECH GLIAC RANKS

• Points - 72.0 (3rd)
• Rebounds - 34.4 (8th)
• Free Throw Percentage - 80.2 (1st) [10th in NCAA Division II]
• Field Goal Percentage - 45.6 (1st) [9th in NCAA Division II]
• Assists - 14.8 (4th) 
• Steals - 8.1 (2nd)
• Blocks - 3.5 (3rd)
• Defense - 67.1 (6th)

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS (17-9, 11-7 GLIAC)

• Saginaw Valley State is an efficient shooting team that defeated Northern Michigan 56-49 Saturday night in Marquette.
• Junior guard Kaitlyn Zarycki (Niles, Michigan) leads the team and ranks third in the GLIAC scoring 19 points per game.
• Zarycki scored 36 points and 39 points three days later against Truman State in November. She also nabs 5.7 rebounds and passes 3.6 assists for the Cardinals.
• Last year, Zarycki started all 20 games and posted 14 ppg with a season-high 29 points against Michigan Tech.
• Junior forward Tori DePerry (11.2 ppg) and senior guard Maddie Maloney (10.7 ppg) also average double figures.
• Jenny Pruett is in her third season as head coach at SVSU. Under her guidance, the Cardinals went 10-10 (9-9 GLIAC) last season and advanced to the GLIAC tournament for the second straight year.
• Michigan Tech took down the Cardinals in the semifinals in Westville, Indiana. Maloney was named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team and earned All-GLIAC second-team honors. Zarycki landed on the first team and all-defensive team.
• Last Thursday, Michigan Tech downed Saginaw Valley State in Houghton 65-54. Sloane Zenner posted a career-high 16 points.
• Michigan Tech was effective at the free throw line, making 12 of 13 attempts (92.3-percent). Ellie Mackay went 5-for-5 and totaled seven points.
• Tech passed 13 assists with 11 turnovers but SVSU took the boards battle 35-31.
• The Cardinals committed 17 turnovers and shot 41.1-percent as a team (23-56).

SVSU RANKS:

• Points - 66.2 (6th)
• Rebounds - 34.8 (7th)
• Assists - 13.3 (7th)
• Steals - 6.3 (8th)
• Turnovers - 13.9 (5th)
• Blocks - 3.4 (4th)
• Shooting Percentage - 44.3 (2nd)
• Defense - 61.6 (5th)

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS (18-8, 12-6 GLIAC)

• The Ferris State University women's basketball squad went on the road and controlled play from start to finish in a 84-70 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) victory at Purdue Northwest on Saturday (Feb. 19) afternoon in Hammond, Ind.
• With the win, FSU moved to 18-8 overall and 11-6 in the GLIAC, forging a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings.
• The Bulldogs were led in the game by junior Chloe Idoni with 19 points. Kadyn Blanchard added 13 points, Zoe Anderson scored 11 points and Adrienne Anderson added 10 points in the victory.
• Ferris State score by committee, with four players above 10 points per game. Anderson leads the team at 13.6 ppg and three games of 20 or more points.
• Last year, Ferris State finished 6-13 overall (6-12 GLIAC) and lost to Wisconsin-Parkside in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament.
• Head coach Kurt Westendorp (first season) was a Ferris State assistant coach from 2010-12. The Bulldogs won the GLIAC North Division in 2018-19 and qualified for the NCAA Region Tournament.
• The Bulldogs defeated the Huskies 80-74 in Houghton on December 11. The Bulldogs shot 14-of-30 (46.7%) from long range and made 42.2% of their shots overall while sinking 12-of-19 (63.2%) free throws.
• Ferris State also took care of the ball on the afternoon, turning it over only eight times as compared to 15 miscues from the Huskies.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS (4-18, 3-13 GLIAC)

• Lake Superior State has lost four of the last five games, including an 87-66 defeat against streaking Wisconsin-Parkside Saturday on the road.
• Alex Rondorf posted 19 points in the first meeting between the two teams and the Huskies won 92-51 at SDC Gymnasium.
• Tech turned over the basketball just six times and put the game out of reach late in the third quarter with a 13-0 run. Ellie Mackay (17 points) and Isabella Lenz (12 points) also vaulted to double figures.
• The Lakers struggle on offense, putting up 52.4 points per game and shooting 65-percent from the free throw line.
• Senior forward Mackenzie Bray (14.5 ppg) has 22 starts and shoots 44.7-percent from the field. Junior forward Mattison Rayman tops the league at 10.5 rebounds per game, adding 1.4 blocks.

SENIOR JORDAN LUDESCHER'S CAREER CELEBRATED LAST SATURDAY

• Senior forward Jordan Ludescher (Glen Flora, Wisconsin) was honored for Senior Day prior to Saturday's tipoff. Ludescher has been unlucky in her Husky career with injuries. She appeared in six games in 2018-19 and scored 8.3 points per game. She was out of the lineup for the entirety of 2019-20, but made a comeback last season and was an integral member of the team which made a run to the NCAA Midwest Region Semifinals. 
• In 2020-21, Ludescher started 22 games and scored 13.4 points per game, shooting better than 50-percent in the post along the way. She also peaked in the postseason after putting up 20 points in the GLIAC Semifinals against Saginaw Valley State and 22 points in the GLIAC Championship against Ashland, which Tech won.
• She was named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team, All-GLIAC Second Team, and GLIAC All-Academic Team. Ludescher returned to play two games this season before another injury forced her out of the lineup. In her final game on November 13, she scored eight points and played 22 minutes against Lewis. At her best, Ludescher is a force in the post and is among the best rebounders in the conference. She will graduate with a degree in human biology with minors in pre-health professions & psychology.

HUSKIES SIGN RECRUIT MAJA KOZLOWSKA

• Michigan Tech women's basketball has announced Maja Kozlowska (Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poland) has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the program for the 2022-23 season. Kozlowska is a capable forward/center and has competed for the Polish National Team since the under-16 level. Last season, she averaged 13.2 points and 7.8 rebounds and helped the under-19 Polish National Team to the finals of the National Championship Tournament. 
• "I'm really excited for Maja to join our Husky team next season," said head coach Sam Clayton. "She's a great fit academically and as a person. She plays with a lot of heart and will give us some versatility and length in the post."
• Kozlowska plans to major in Engineering at Michigan Tech. She has been a member of National Championship teams twice at the under-16 level (Club: AZS AJP Gorzow) and once at under-18. In 2019, she was named Most Valuable Player of the National Championship Tournament.
• In 2020-21, she averaged 12 points and 7.9 rebounds. One year prior, she posted 15.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

REIGNING CHAMPS

• Michigan Tech women's basketball returned 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. Michigan Tech matched a program record with 19 wins in a row during the regular season.
• The Huskies were selected to finish first in the GLIAC North Division in the GLIAC women's basketball preseason coaches' poll with eight first-place votes. The Huskies were followed by Ferris State, Wisconsin Parkside, Northern Michigan, Purdue Northwest, and Lake Superior State. Grand Valley State received nine first-place votes to take the top spot in the South Division.