Michigan Tech collects third straight win, stays undefeated at home
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Parkside | 8 | 9 | 17 | 24 | 58 |
|
Michigan Tech | 8 | 19 | 17 | 24 | 68 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Huskies remained perfect at home and stifled Wisconsin Parkside 68-58 at SDC Gymnasium Saturday in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball.
Ellie Mackay led the offense with 17 points and Sara Dax notched her second double-double of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds.
Michigan Tech (22-5, 14-3 GLIAC) evened up the season series with the Rangers (16-10, 11-5 GLIAC) and improved to 12-0 in Houghton with one game left to play in the regular season.
"This was huge for us," said head coach Sam Clayton. "We proved we could defend them which shows the growth we've made this season. This was an important game to win both for the conference standings and the regional rankings and I was happy with our effort and execution this afternoon."
Mackay and Dax converted layups to start the game. The Huskies connected on 4-for-14 shots from the floor in the first quarter, resulting in an 8-8 tie. Mackay assisted Alex Rondorf's right wing three to spark the offense in the second quarter. Rondorf downed another triple on the Huskies' next possession and Dax duplicated the effort for a 17-10 edge.
Sheridan Flauger nabbed a pair of steals to open the third quarter for Parkside, but Dax and Mackay downed jump shots to open the Huskies' largest lead to the six-minute mark 34-19. After UWP began the game 1-for-11 from downtown, Alyssa Nelson connected for three, but Parkside's shooting struggles continued through the third with limited points in the paint.
Lamija Coric closed the gap to seven with a 3-pointer to begin the fourth quarter. Following an offensive foul on the Huskies, Nelson hit a three in front of Parkside's bench. Dax stemmed the momentum with a steal and Katelyn Meister laid it in at the rim after grabbing an offensive rebound.
Meister's three at the mid-point of the fourth quarter kept the Huskies in front 52-47.
Tech forced a shot clock violation with 2:44 to play and a seven-point spread. Then Dax and Isabella Lenz drained 3-pointers to build back a double-figure lead 60-49.
The Huskies closed out the game by making six of six free throws with under a minute to play and went 10-10 from the line on the afternoon.
Tech shot 46.3 percent (25-54) overall, including 8-for-20 (40 percent) from beyond the arc. Rondorf finished with 13 points and seven rebounds and Katelyn Meister came off the bench for 11 points and shot 4-for-5 from the floor.
"We gave up 86 points the first time we played them this season, so defense was a big emphasis today," Rondorf said. "Working as a team and trusting our teammates to be there to help builds confidence. We want to stick together and keep it going the rest of the way."
MTU held a 42-38 edge in rebounds and overcame 20 turnovers. The Huskies close the regular season on Saturday, February 25, when they host Northern Michigan for Senior Day at SDC Gymnasium at 1 p.m.
The Huskies are currently in second place in the GLIAC Standings and earned the right to host the GLIAC quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m. (opponent to be determined). The Huskies have won three straight and six of the previous seven outings.
