PREVIEW: Huskies host Golden Bears for afternoon matinee

HOUGHTON, Mich - Michigan Tech continues its stretch of five games in ten days Tuesday afternoon in Houghton for  'Ladies Afternoon' at SDC Gymnasium. The Huskies (2-0) will face Concordia St. Paul (0-0) from the Northern Sun Conference, a team that has split two exhibition contests so far this fall.

OVER THE WEEKEND

• Lewis University sent the game to overtime but the Huskies prevailed 95-83 and moved to 2-0 at the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Tournament Saturday afternoon at Mabee Center. 
• The Huskies outscored the Flyers 13-1 in the extra session and had five players in double-figures, including Sloane Zenner, whose 18 points and final-minute free throws factored in the decision.
• Mackay posted a team-high 23 points and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Lenz came off the bench for 19 points and shot 7-for-17 from the floor. 
• Zenner was an efficient 5-for-9 for 18 points, along with seven rebounds. 
• Katelyn Meister led the team with eight rebounds to go with 16 points and the Huskies nearly made it to 100 points for the first time since 2009 (Finlandia).
• Friday night, Tech handled William Jewell College 63-32 at Mabee Center.
• Isabella Lenz was one of three players in double figures with 12 points (5-for-11), two rebounds, and one block.  
• Mackay shot 4-for-8 for 11 points and Alex Rondorf posted 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Huskies.
• The Huskies shot 38-percent (25-65) overall, including 26-percent (7-27) from beyond the arc. Tech took in 48 rebounds and limited turnovers to nine with four blocks and four steals.
• With 32 points allowed Friday, the Huskies came within five points of the school record for single-game points allowed to an opponent (27) set in 1981 against Saginaw Valley State.

FOR THE HUSKIES

• Mackay (Novi, Michigan) has so far matched her 2021-22 scoring average of 17 points per game and has spent a team-high 29.5 minutes on the floor.
• Tech is shooting 41.9-percent from the field and 34.5-percent from beyond the arc.
• With 15 of 16 free throw opportunities, the Huskies are 94-percent at the line, a category they ranked near the top of NCAA Division II last season.
• After Tuesday's matinee, the Huskies hit the road to face Southwest Minnesota State Thursday at 7 p.m. and Minnesota Crookston Saturday at 2 p.m. in non-conference play.
• The Huskies returned their entire starting five this season. 
• Last winter, Head Coach Sam Clayton guided the team to an 18-11 record, 12-7 in the GLIAC good for second place in the North Division.
• Tech ranked 45th in Division II scoring at 71.9 points per game but fell in the GLIAC Tournament semifinals to Grand Valley State 71-57.

KATIE WYSOCKY ENTERS HUSKY HALL OF FAME

• Katie Wysocky is the most decorated women's basketball player in Michigan Tech history. She played for the Huskies from 2006-10 and is the all-time leader in scoring (1,943) and rebounding (1,231). Wysocky ranks first, second and third in rebounds in a season and holds the school record for points in a season (609). She is also third in career field goal percentage (54.9 percent).
• During the 2009-10 season, Wysocky was named a First Team All-American, the Midwest Region Player of the Year, and the GLIAC Player of the Year. The Huskies set a school record for wins (31) and won their second straight NCAA Midwest Regional Title. Tech won three straight GLIAC Regular Season Championships and a pair of GLIAC Tournament Championships.
• Wysocky was a four-time All-GLIAC Selection with first-team honors in her final three seasons. She was a two-time All-Midwest Region and was a Third Team All-American in 2008-09. Wysocky was the 2007 GLIAC Freshman of the Year.

WATCH THE HUSKIES

• Michigan Tech basketball in partnership with the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced a four-year media partnership with FloSports beginning this fall. FloSports became the exclusive platform for the conference and will broadcast over 900 games across 21 sports, including football, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at MTU.

LISTEN TO THE HUSKIES

• The exclusive radio carrier of Michigan Tech athletics is Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ and its partner station AM 920 WMPL.
• Fans can listen to every conference game and a selection of non-conference action all season long on local radio and online at pasty.net.
• Long time play-by-play voice of the Huskies, Mitch Lake will be on the call for all Tech men's and women's basketball home contests.

OFF-SEASON NEWS

• Elisa Jurmu has been promoted to Assistant Head Coach with the Michigan Tech women's basketball team, Head Coach Sam Clayton announced on Wednesday (August 3).
• Jurmu served as Assistant Coach for each of the past four seasons.
• Over that period, the Huskies posted a 70-39 overall record (.642), including two GLIAC North Division regular season championships, two conference tournament semifinal appearances, and one GLIAC tournament championship (2020-21).
• The Michigan Tech women's basketball team held the 15th highest grade point average in NCAA Division II in 2021-22 and was included in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 award.
• The Huskies improved their GPA to 3.734 and were one of two GLIAC schools honored (Wayne State - No. 18). Tech has been in the Top-25 for 14 of the past 15 years. Ten players earned GLIAC All-Academic Excellence honors and one more was a GLIAC All-Academic honoree.
• Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Famer Dawn Plitzuweit was named the Head Women's Basketball Coach at West Virginia on March 31.
• Plitzuweit was an All-American for the Huskies, playing from 1990-95, and was an assistant coach for the Black and Gold from 1995-98.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS

• Concordia St. Paul was selected to finish fifth in the 16-team Northern Sun Conference this season.
• The Golden Bears won their first exhibition vs. St. Kates 78-51 on Nov. 2
• CSP fell to University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in their second exhibition 72-70 on Nov. 7.
• Last season, the Golden Bears defeated Bemidji State in the NSC tournament quarterfinals but fell to No. 13 ranked St. Cloud State in the semifinals 78-49 at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls to end their spring.
• Head Coach Amanda Johnson has eight returners coming back this season, highlighted by the two returning starters Lindsey Becher and Jaydn Hanson. 
• In 2021-22 Becher was a First Team All-Conference selection and was named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence. 
• She started all 27 games and averaged 14.3 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting.
• She tied the NCAA Division II record and set a new school record for blocks in a game with 11 against SMSU and set a new CSP record (breaking her covid-year record) by averaging three blocks a game.
• Hanson started 24 games in 2021-22 averaging 9.6 points per game and shooting 33% from the 3-point line.
• She was second on the team in assists with 70. The Junior was named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence for the second year in a row.
• Concordia St. Paul assistant coach Madison McKeever moved to St. Thomas after two seasons to serve as Director of Basketball Operations.
• Mallie Doucette joins the staff after two years assisting the girls' basketball program at Minnetonka High School (Minnesota).
• Sophomores Sarah Kuma and Megan Gamble both played valuable minutes off the bench for the Golden Bears in 2021-22.
• Kuma appeared in 19 games last year including two starts. The guard averaged 3.2 points per game and shot 33% from behind the arc.
• In 2021-22, Gamble appeared in 26 games averaging 3.7 points per game and corralled 83 rebounds, fourth most on the team. Gamble has been working on a position change over the summer and Coach Johnson is excited about her development so far.
• The Concordia women are joined this season by three transfers, Ally Gietzal Jayln Shaw, and Raegan Alexander. 
• Gietzel joins CSP after her time at Illinois State University and University of Illinois-Springfield. The junior guard put up solid numbers in her final year at Illinois-Springfield, starting 20 games and averaging 9.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and totaling 32 steals.
• Shaw played for Salt Lake Community College in Utah for two years before transferring to play at Division I school Binghamton in 2021-22. She started 17 games and racked up 131 rebounds, third best on the team.
• The third transfer coming in for CSP is Raegan Alexander from MSU Moorhead. She redshirted during her year at MSU Moorhead before joining Concordia so the redshirt freshman will keep her four years of eligibility. Alexander was part of the 1,000-point club in high school, scoring 1,214 points total in her career at St. Louis Park.
• All four freshman guards come from the Twin Cities or surrounding area and will be staying closer to home for their education, while the incoming front-court freshman hail from out of state.