The Michigan Tech women’s basketball team (16-3, 10-2 GLIAC) held both their opponents to 54 points these past two games, as their defense shined bright like a diamond. They defeated GLIAC newcomers the Davenport Panthers (7-12, 5-7 GLIAC) 82-54 Thursday night in the make-up game from last weekend, and arch nemesis the Northern Michigan Wildcats (9-11, 5-7 GLIAC) 61-54 Saturday.
On Thursday, Jan. 25, the Panthers got on the board first knocking down a couple free throws for the early 2-0 lead. Two minutes later Husky junior Elizabeth Kelliher put in a shot to tie up the game at two apiece. Two free throws by junior Michelle LaFave and a three-pointer by sophomore Hannah Hobson gave the Huskies the 15-9 lead with two and a half minutes left. A layup by LaFave gave the Huskies the 17-13 lead after the first.
The Huskies exploded in the second as senior Hannah Stoll nailed a jumper just ten seconds into the quarter. LaFave gave the Huskies the double-digit advantage, 23-13, with a jump shot. Davenport made their first basket of the quarter with 3:07 left in the quarter to make it a 32-15 game in favor of Tech. A three by senior Brenna Heise gave the Huskies a 22-point lead. A jumper by Heise followed by the Panther’s second basket of the quarter saw the halftime score 41-17 in favor of the Huskies.
The third quarter started with both teams exchanging basket for basket. Three’s by Heise and senior Lindsay Winter put the Huskies up 52-25 (que Tech Pep Band with the “Palindrome” chant). Davenport went on a 7-2 run to make it 55-32 Tech with four and a half left. The rest of the quarter saw Tech go on an 11-7 run to make it 66-39 at the end of three.
Davenport started out quarter four making two quick baskets, however senior Kelli Guy answered by knocking down a triple to make it 69-43 MTU. Freshman Cassidy Trotter put in a layup to take the 29-point lead 75-46 with just under six minutes left. With just under three minutes left sophomore Abbie Botz and junior Bella O’Brien, each contributed their fair share of scoring making it 80-49.
Kelliher led the Huskies in scoring with 18, followed closely by Heise with 14. LaFave finished with ten off the bench, and Winter finished with nine. Hobson finished with eight while both Guy and Stoll had six apiece. Trotter finished with three, while Botz, senior Elisa Jurmu, sophomore Baillie McGirk, and O’Brien each finished with two apiece. Heise and Kelliher led the Huskies in rebounding with six apiece, and Guy, Heise, and Hobson each had a block.
“Our second quarter was really good today, holding them to just four points,” Michigan Tech Head Coach Kim Cameron said. “We are heading into the final segment of our season before the tournament starts and we have to continue to focus on our consistency. There are so many signs of greatness on our team which we see on the court. I’m proud of our players because I felt like there was a big effort made and they took pride in this game. As we start putting things together for the stretch run, this was a good confidence builder for us going into the second half of the GLIAC schedule.”
On Sunday, Jan. 28, NMU got on the board first a minute into the contest, however, Stoll knotted up the contest a minute later. Kelliher knocked in two baskets followed by Heise gracing in a layup to make it 8-2 Tech, forcing the Wildcats to take a timeout. Following the timeout, both teams went basket for basket, until a layup by LaFave and two free throws by Stoll gave the Huskies the double-digit lead at 16-6. A jumper by Guy ended the first in favor of the Huskies 19-10.
The Huskies re-took a double-digit lead on two free throws by LaFave to make it 23-12 with eight and a half left in the quarter. A layup by Winter made it 27-18 Tech with just under five and a half remaining, forcing NMU to call a timeout. The Wildcats pulled within five, however, LaFave responded with a layup.
LaFave banked in another layup to go into halftime with the Huskies up 33-27.
NMU started quarter three by knocking down a shot not even 30 seconds into the quarter. NMU made it a two-point game following two made shots, forcing the Huskies to call a timeout to regroup. Following the timeout, Stoll knocked down a shot to make it 37-33 Tech. O’Brien laid in a beautiful basket to end the quarter in favor of the Huskies 44-36.
Tech regained a double-digit lead on a three by Winter, to make it 50-40. NMU answered with four straight points to make it 50-44. However, a layup by Heise made it a 12-point game with just under five minutes left. Northern went on a small run to pull within four on a free throw to make it 56-52 MTU forcing Tech to call a timeout. Two free throws by Guy with 17 seconds left secured the win as the Huskies swept the team from Marquette during the regular season.
“I thought today’s game was a really hard fought battle and the epitome of a rivalry game,” Michigan Tech Head Coach Kim Cameron said. “I thought both teams emphasized the post-game early on and when the post players on both sides got into a little foul trouble, things shifted to more of a guard-oriented offense. We did a great job in certain stretches and were able to make a couple of runs which helped us stay in front at the end.”
Kelliher once again led the Huskies with 15 points, while LaFave pitched in 12 off the bench. Winter and Heise each contributed nine, while Stoll finished with eight. Guy finished with four, while O’Brien finished with 2, and Trotter and Hobson each had one apiece. Hobson, Stoll and Winter led the Huskies with six rebounds apiece, while Kelliher finished with two blocks.
The Huskies will be back at home this coming Thursday and Saturday as they face the Grand Valley State Lakers (17-3, 10-2 GLIAC), who the Huskies defeated in overtime earlier this year 85-81, and GLIAC newcomer the Purdue Northwest Pride (3-14, 2-10 GLIAC), who the Huskies throttled earlier this year 86-40. Grand Valley State and Purdue Northwest faced each other last weekend at Grand Valley State with the Lakers coming out on top 78-36. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday and noon Saturday in the SDC Wood Gym.
