Fourth Quarter Takeover Lifts No. 25 Bulldogs over Huskies, 69-59

DULUTH Minn. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team was outscored 22-8 in the fourth quarter to ultimately fall at No. 25 Minnesota Duluth, 69-59 on Saturday afternoon.

"I thought we competed hard again," head coach Sam Clayton said. "Duluth is a good program and made us pay for our turnovers and defensive mistakes. We just have to bounce back tomorrow."

Minnesota Duluth (3-1, 1-0 NSIC) saw an astonishing takeover by its big three doing everything offensively for the Bulldogs in the opening two quarters, combining to score all 35 first-half points. Taytum Rhoades poured on 15 points, Taya Hakamaki added 13 rounded out by Ella Gilbertson with seven. On the flip side, Alyssa Wypych and Alex Rondorf each scored nine points to enter halftime down 35-33.

Michigan Tech (3-2, 0-0 GLIAC) entered the fourth quarter with a 51-47 advantage after outscoring Minnesota Duluth 18-12 to close the third quarter with Wypych chipping in a team-high eight points out of halftime.

Following a steal and score by Hakamaki at the 5:05 mark put MTU on its heels, taking a two-possession lead for the first time in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs lockdown defense forced three Michigan Tech turnovers in the final five minutes of play, putting Minnesota Duluth out of reach before the final buzzer sounded with the score 69-59 in favor of UMD.

The fourth quarter was rather lopsided statistically, seeing UMD go 10-for-13 from the field and 2-for-3 from deep. Meanwhile, Michigan Tech shot 3-for-16 from the field and an unfortunate 0-for-5 from 3-point range.

Wypych led the Huskies with a career-high 19 points with Isabella Lenz and Rondorf also chipping in double-figure scoring. Rondorf and Sara Dax each grabbed 10 rebounds to lead MTU.

Taya Hakamaki scored over a third of the Bulldogs' points with 27 to lead the team. Taytum Rhoades posted 21 points and a team-high five rebounds.

Up Next

Michigan Tech continues its road trip with a matchup at St. Cloud State on Sunday (Nov. 26) slated for a 3 p.m. tipoff.