PREVIEW: #22 Huskies take on Ferris State in GLIAC Semifinals

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech women's basketball brings a five-game win streak into the GLIAC Semifinals Saturday as they play Ferris State at 4:30 p.m. EST. in Allendale (Grand Valley State host). The Huskies stayed undefeated (14-0) at SDC Gymnasium Wednesday with an 80-71 win over No. 7 seed Wayne State.

Fans can stream Saturday's game on pasty.net and listen via radio on 920 AM WMPL/107.3 FM. Ferris State will provide the video stream on FloSports.

The other semifinal features No. 1 seed Grand Valley State against No. 5 Saginaw Valley State.

FOR CONTEXT

• The Huskies have made the postseason all five seasons under head coach Sam Clayton and have not missed the conference tournament since 1989-80.
• Tech has 20 NCAA Appearances. Their last trip was in 2020-21 (midwest region semifinalist).
• Tech's impressive home winning streak extends into last season and stands at 17 in a row (last loss: Jan. 27, 2022 vs. Northwood).

WHERE THE HUSKIES EXCEL

• Isabella Lenz ranks second on the team and 11th in the GLIAC in scoring at 14.0 points per game.
• The Prescott, Wisconsin native was named GLIAC Freshman of the Year last spring. 
• The Huskies average 70.7 points (4th) and allow 59.8 points to opponents (3rd).
• MTU is the most responsible team in the league with the basketball and ranks ninth nationally in fewest turnovers per game (12.5).
• The Huskies are also third in Division II free throw percentage (80.21), behind only Belmont Abbey (81.60) and Cedarville (83.81). 

WEDNESDAY'S WIN

• Ellie Mackay tied the Michigan Tech single-game record with 37 points as the Huskies defeated Wayne State 80-71.
• Mackay shot 11-18 overall, including 7-11 from beyond the arc, and 8-8 at the free throw line. Alex Rondorf grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
• Isabella Lenz (11 pts) and Sloane Zenner (10 pts) also made it to double-figures.
• The Huskies shot 42 percent overall and 32 percent from downtown. Tech pulled in 45 rebounds (14 offensive). 

FERRIS STATE WEDNESDAY

• The No. 6 seed Bulldogs downed No. 3 seed Parkside 74-64 in Kenosha. The Rangers led by a point at halftime.
• Senior standout Chloe Idoni tallied 27 points for the Bulldogs in the victory and added nine rebounds for FSU.
• Meanwhile, sophomore Kenzie Bowers chipped in with 20 points and 13 rebounds in an impressive double-double effort while senior guard Mallory McCartney netted 14 points in the win.
• The Bulldogs shot 48.1% from the floor and went seven-of-18 (38.9%) from long range along with 13-of-19 (68.4%) at the free throw stripe.
• Defensively, Ferris State held Parkside to 36.8% shooting with the Rangers finishing five-of-23 (21.7%) from long range. 

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

• Senior forward Chloe Idoni has three game of 30 or more points this season and is third in the league in scoring (19.4 ppg).
• Idoni and senior point guard Mallory McCartney were selected preseason second team All-GLIAC.
• McCartney was All-Defensive defensive team last season.
• The Bulldogs captured both the GLIAC North Division Regular-Season Championship and also the GLIAC Tournament Championship last season.
• The postseason tournament title was the Bulldogs' first in school history. The Bulldogs' 22 wins fell one shy of matching the school single-season mark for victories in a campaign.
• Ferris State was selected to finish second in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll this fall.
• Head coach Kurt Westendorp took over as head coach in 2013 after serving two years as the top assistant coach on the staff.
• He has also been head coach at William Jessup University in Rocklin, California for four seasons.
• Michigan Tech split the season series with Ferris State, winning 67-52 at home in December and falling 63-60 at Jim Wink Arena in January.
• Idoni scored 34 points for FSU in the latter. Lenz had 19 points in the loss for Tech. MTU trailed 34-26 at halftime.

CHASING HISTORY

• After surpassing the Michigan Tech all-time career games played record (131), Mackay continues to climb the charts.
• Her 1,855 career points ranks third behind Katie Wysocky (1,943) and Jenny Postlewaite (1,856).
• This season, Mackay is averaging 14.2 points per game and 3.8 rebounds.
• The fifth year senior holds an 87.6 percent career free throw percentage, on pace to surpass Mary Fisher's (1983-87) MTU record 85.3 percentage with 250 makes on 293 tries at the line (minimum 200 attempts).
• Mackay already holds the single season record for free throw percentage (92.4), though Rondorf is currently on pace to usurp her for the top spot, having converted 49 of 51 attempts this winter. 

WHERE THEY RANK

• Alex Rondorf is 5th in the league in rebounds (8.0 rpg)
• Sara Dax is 2nd in the conference in field goal percentage (52.8 percent)
• Katelyn Meister is 4th in the conference in field goal percentage (51.4 percent)
• Isabella Lenz is 4th in the GLIAC in 3-point field goal percentage (41.9 percent)
• Isabella Lenz is third in the league in assists per game (3.4 apg)

NCAA MIDWEST REGION RANKINGS (through games Feb. 26, 2023)

WBCA Division II National Top-25 Poll

• Michigan Tech women's basketball is Nationally ranked for the second time this season, checking in at No. 22 in Tuesday's Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II Top-25 poll.

• The Huskies were receiving votes for the third time last week and were ranked No. 24 on February 7. 

THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR

• The NCAA Division II women's basketball championship selection show is set for Sunday, March 5 at 10:30 p.m. EST on NCAA.com. Before the selection, the committee sits down to fill out the 64-team bracket, 23 conference champions will earn an automatic bid to this year's tournament. Eight regionals commence on March 10 to determine this season's DII Elite Eight. Those final eight teams will head to the St. Joseph Civic Center in St. Joseph, Mo., from March 20-22 to decide which two teams head to Dallas, Texas to play in the DII National Championship game on April 1.
• Michigan Tech has made 20 NCAA Regional appearances, once under head coach Sam Clayton, and most recently in 2020-21.
• The Huskies were a regional semifinalist and fell 74-65 to Ashland University at O'Reilly Event Center in Springfield, Missouri (Drury University).
• Tech's best run since the program's inception in 1975-76 occurred under head coach Kim Cameron in 2010-11.
• The Huskies finished 31-3 overall, placed first in the GLIAC North Division and GLIAC Tournament, before making a run to the NCAA Division II title game, where they fell to Clayton State 69-50 at Civic Arena (St. Joseph's, Missouri).
• Sam Clayton was a sophomore at the time and a Division II All-American Honorable Mention selection.