PREVIEW: Huskies travel to #2 Grand Valley State for Semifinals

HOUGHTON, Mich. - No. 4 seed Michigan Tech women's basketball (18-10, 12-7) heads to No. 1 seed Grand Valley State (26-1, 18-1) to play in the GLIAC Tournament semifinals Saturday, March 5 at 2 p.m. The Lakers are ranked No. 2 in the nation and defeated Northern Michigan 71-52 in the quarterfinals Wednesday night. The Huskies have won three straight, including an 87-77 overtime victory in the quarterfinals over No. 5 seed Northwood. The game will be broadcast locally on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ and online at pasty.net. Wayne State and Ferris State meet in the other GLIAC Women's Basketball semifinal Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT

• In another high octane offensive battle, No. 4 seed Michigan Tech put away No. 5 seed Northwood 87-77 in the GLIAC quarterfinals Wednesday night at SDC Gymnasium. It took overtime to draw separation, but late free throws by leading scorer Ellie Mackay helped push the Huskies over the edge.
• Mackay posted 23 points and shot 12 for 13 from the charity stripe. 
• Sara Dax was an efficient 9 of 13 for 20 points and Sloane Zenner notched a career-high 19 points in the victory.
• The Huskies shot 49-percent (30-for-61) in the game, including 43.5-percent (10-for-23) from beyond the arc. Rondorf made it to double figures with 11 points and passed four of Michigan Tech's 12 assists.
• Meister and Dax swatted three steals apiece, adding to a team total of 10. 

SCOUTING THE NO. 2 LAKERS

• Five GVSU players recognized for All-GLIAC honors on Friday, including junior Emily Spitzley (First Team), freshman Ellie Droste (First Team), freshman Rylie Bisballe (First Team, All-Defensive), senior Qay Stanton (All-Defensive), and freshman Hadley Miller (All-Defensive).
• Grand Valley Head Coach Mike Williams earned GLIAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
• Spitzley averaged a team-best 12.6 points per game and shoots 45-percent from the field, including 42-percent from beyond the arc. She is fifth in the GLIAC in made 3-pointers per game.
• Droste averaged 11.8 points and shot 46-percent. She also leads the team in free throw percentage (81-percent) and has 54 assists.
• Bisballe is the Lakers' leading rebounder (6.8 rpg). She also tops the squad in field goal percentage (49-percent).
• Stanton and Miller supplement GVSU's defensive prowess, which ranks first in all of Division II (48.2 points against per game).
• The Lakers have won 21 games in a row and are 12-1 at home. 
• Last season, GVSU lost to Parkside in the GLIAC quarterfinals and Ashland in the NCAA Midwest Regional after finishing 14-6, 14-4 GLIAC.
• GVSU took the season series with the Huskies 2-0 after beating MTU in Houghton 74-70 (Jan. 20) and 61-45 (Feb. 12) in Allendale.

MACKAY LEADS THE WAY

• Reigning GLIAC Player of the Year and GLIAC Tournament most valuable player Ellie Mackay was again named First Team All-GLIAC in 2021-22.
• Mackay currently ranks third in the league in scoring at 16.9 points per game.
• On January 6, she posted 36 points in a game against Wisconsin-Parkside and was subsequently named GLIAC North Division Player of the Week for the third time in her three-year career.
• Mackay remains one of the best shooters in Division two with 10 games of 20 or more points. She also posted her first double-double this season and scored 23 points Thursday night in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals, including seven points in overtime to help MTU advance.
• Last season Mackay was recognized as a WBCA Division II Honorable Mention All-American. She was also All-GLIAC second team in 2019-20 and GLIAC Freshman of the Year in 2018-19.

RONDORF TAKES ALL-GLIAC SECOND TEAM HONORS

• Alex Rondorf earned All-GLIAC Second Team and All-GLIAC Defensive Team honors for the first time in her career in 2021-22. Rondorf ranks second on the team with 12.3 points per game with 26 starts for the Huskies. She has scored double figures on 16 occasions this season and posted a career-high 27 points against Northwood on January 27.
• Rondorf connected on 7 of 9 long-range attempts in the game.
• She ranks No. 2 in the conference in field goal percentage (55.1-percent), behind only teammate Sara Dax (55.5-percent).
• Rondorf is also third in the conference in blocked shots.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

• Lenz is the fifth Husky to win GLIAC Freshman of the Year since 1989, joining Ellie Mackay (2019), Katie Wysocky (2007), Sarah Stream (2005), and Dawn Zarling (1991).
• Lenz's breakout game came on January 13, when she played 25 minutes and scored 13 points at Northern Michigan. She earned her second career start four nights later and posted a season-high 17 points at Purdue Northwest, shooting 6-for-9 from the field with three triples.
• Lenz again made it to double-figures with 12 points against Parkside on February 5, a game in which she also passed five assists. Lenz is shooting 42.3-percent from the floor with 28 games played and five starts.
• She also has 23 steals and 42 assists.
• Michigan Tech women's basketball plays in the GLIAC Semifinals on Saturday, March 5 at No. 2 Grand Valley State at 2 p.m. Fans can listen on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ.

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.

DAX WINS GLIAC NORTH DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Michigan Tech sophomore forward Sara Dax (Kewaunee, Wisconsin) was named GLIAC North Division Player of the Week, announced by the conference office Monday afternoon. Dax totaled 48 points over three conference road games last week, including a season-high 23 points to lead the Huskies over Ferris State last Thursday night.
• Dax also recorded 16 rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal and shot an efficient 71.4 percent (20-28) from the field.
• Tuesday night, Dax scored 18 points and went 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Thursday, she posted 23 points with a pair of three and 10-for-14 shooting. Saturday, the Huskies defeated Lake Superior State and Dax scored seven points. Dax ranks third on the team in points (10.9 ppg) and first in rebounds (5.6 rpg).
• Monday marked the first time Dax has been awarded GLIAC North Division player of the week in her career. She is the third Husky to be named this season, joining teammates Ellie Mackay (Jan. 24) and Alex Rondorf (Jan. 17).