The Huskies women’s basketball team (14-2, 8-1 GLIAC) traveled to Ferris State (9-8, 3-6 GLIAC) and Lake Superior State (0-13, 0-9 GLIAC) this past weekend. The Huskies completed the comeback in Big Rapids as they defeated the Bulldogs of Ferris State 80-77, and obliterated the Lake Superior State Lakers 77-47.
Thursday, Jan. 11, the sixteenth-ranked Huskies had their hands full as they faced the Ferris State Bulldogs. The Huskies and Bulldogs traded point for point in the first quarter as neither team was more than four points ahead of the other. The Huskies took the 15-14 lead at the 2:31 mark on a three by senior Lindsay Winter. The Bulldogs, however, would tie it up on a free throw, and knock down a triple to end the first up 18-15 on the Huskies.
Ferris scored five more points to start out the second before senior Brenna Heise scored a layup for Tech’s first points of the second. A layup by Ferris put the Bulldogs up by double digits 29-19 almost halfway through the quarter. Heise went on a tear as she scored the next eight points for the Huskies to bring them within four, 31-27. Ferris went into halftime on top 41-36.
During the third quarter, the Bulldogs found an answer for anything the Huskies threw at them, as Tech could only get within five at the 8:16 mark. Ferris went up thirteen 55-42 on a layup with 5:45 remaining. Tech went on a little run to pull within five 58-53 on a free throw by Winter. Ferris came out of quarter three up 65-58.
A jumper by senior Kelli Guy was the start of an 8-2 run by Tech as they pulled within three 69-66 with six and a half minutes remaining. Tech pulled within one 73-72 on free throws by Heise. Junior Elizabeth Kelliher tied up the game at 76 apiece at the 1:20 mark with a layup forcing Ferris to call a timeout. A turnover by Ferris led to a layup by Heise to put Tech up 78-76, forcing Ferris to call another timeout. A free throw by Ferris put them within one 78-77 with eight seconds left. Winter secured the win for the Huskies as she nailed a pair of free throws for the 80-77 win.
“Our fourth quarter was clearly the difference in the game tonight,” Michigan Tech Head Coach Kim Cameron said. “Being able to stay in there and fight back from what felt like a 20-point deficit was big. We had a tough time with their pressure tonight and it’s something that we are working on and still need to get better at.”
All of Tech’s starters scored in double digits as Heise led the charge with 19, followed by Guy with 17, Kelliher with 16, Winter with 12, Senior Hannah Stoll finished with ten, and; Junior Michelle LaFave produced six points off the bench. Tech finished with 35 rebounds led by Kelliher with seven, followed closely by Heise and Winter with six, respectively. Kelliher also finished with two blocks, while Stoll had one.
On Saturday, Jan. 13, the Huskies traveled to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to face U.P. foe the Lake Superior State Lakers. The Huskies asserted their dominance early as they built a 7-0 lead before the Lakers got on the board. The Lakers came within two 11-9 before the Huskies finished out quarter one on a 6-3 run, 19-13.
Quarter two saw both teams score two points each before neither team was able to bank a shot for over two and a half minutes until LaFave broke the streak for the Huskies to go up 23-15. Winter gave Tech the 16-point lead on a layup to make it 33-17 forcing the Lakers to take a timeout. Tech finished quarter two on an 8-3 run to make it 41-20 going into halftime.
Tech gained a 22-point lead to make it 50-28 on a triple by sophomore Hannah Hobson. Tech maintained that lead to end the third quarter up 58-36 on the Lakers. Hobson sparked the Huskies as she opened quarter four with a three to make it 61-36 Tech. Senior Elisa Jurmu was red-hot in the last three minutes as she scored 9 points during that time to win the game by 30 points 77-47.
Seven different Huskies scored with six of them in double digits. Tech was led by Winter with 18, while Hobson and Guy each produced 12, Jurmu finished with 11, Heise and LaFave each had ten, and Stoll finished with four. Tech finished with 26 rebounds, led by Winter with seven. Heise had the sole block for Tech on the night.
The Huskies will be on the road again this week as they take on the Wayne State Warriors (11-4, 6-3 GLIAC) Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Detroit. Then they’ll travel to Grand Rapids to visit GLIAC newcomers, the Davenport Panthers (7-9, 5-4 GLIAC) on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. The Warriors are coming off of a sweep of the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals and the Northwood Timberwolves, while the Panthers split, defeating the T-Wolves, but losing to the Cardinals.
