No. 10 Huskies win 14th game in a row
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Parkside | 18 | 18 | 16 | 21 | 73 |
|
Michigan Tech | 20 | 10 | 31 | 16 | 77 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season champion Michigan Tech Huskies defeated Wisconsin-Parkside 77-73 to mark their 14th win in a row Friday afternoon at SDC Gymnasium in Houghton. The No. 10 ranked Huskies posted 31 points in the third quarter and matched the Rangers high octane offense with three players in double-figures. Ellie Mackay shot 10-for-20 for a team high 24 points and three rebounds. Senior Cassidy Trotter also impressed with 19 points (8-for-17) and a season high six steals. Jordan Ludescher and Katelyn Meister helped the Huskies dominate the boards battle with 10 rebounds apiece. Ludescher also scored 12 points for a double-double.
The No. 10 Huskies (16-1) play Wisconsin-Parkside (9-8) again Saturday for Senior Day at 3 p.m. They will head to the GLIAC tournament in Westville, Indiana as the No. 1 seed next Thursday.
"I'm so proud of our team for another hard-fought win," Hoyt commented on the game. "Parkside is an incredible offensive team but in the second half we came out with a different energy and urgency. We changed from man-to-man to a zone defense which I felt helped us. I thought for Cassidy, one of our seniors to come out in the second half and hit those shots in her final weekend in the wood gym was phenomenal."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Huskies passed the basketball inside the paint quickly and effectively for a 20-18 advantage by the end of the first quarter. Trotter asserted a quick steal and a basket and Tech held the narrow advantage after an early 6-6 tie. MTU shot just 1 of 7 from long-range in the opening 10 minutes but limited turnovers to just two.
Tech continued to struggle from the 3-point line in the second quarter but Mackay was effective in the lane to keep scoreboard pressure on, 28-28. Ludescher drew a foul to end a 7-0 scoring run for Wisconsin-Parkside with 1:34 to play, but the Rangers shot 44-percent to lead 36-30 at halftime. Alyssa Nelson led Wisconsin-Parkside with 10 points and five rebounds while Ellie Mackay helped Michigan Tech with 10 points.
Trotter opened the second half with a pair of 3-point jumpers and Ludescher was on the receiving end of a charge to assist Tech on a 12-3 run to go ahead 49-39, their largest lead to that point. Mackay impressed with a steal and a 3-point play on the ensuing rush and MTU maintained a 9-point margin 61-52 heading into the final ten minutes.
"We missed some layups in the first half, but we talked about how you still have to be able to bring the energy, the positivity, the encouragement of teammates, and the defensive urgency and I felt we did those things in the second half," Hoyt said.
Alyssa Nelson made it to 25 points early in the fourth quarter for Wisconsin-Parkside, but the Huskies matched her offensive pace and got back to a 10-point edge 77-67 with 1:22 left on the clock. Courtney Schoenback made a quick layup to get Parkside back to 77-73 with 17.3 seconds remaining. Then Trotter inbounded to Mackay, who was promptly fouled. Mackay missed both free throws but the Huskies held on after forcing a pair of missed layups.
BY THE NUMBERS: The Huskies shot 43.2-percent from the field (32-74) and 23.8-percent from the 3-point line (5-21). Tech made just 1 of 9 tries from beyond the arc in the first half but recovered in the second. Trotter went 3-for-8 from downtown. Michigan Tech pulled down 43 rebounds (16 offensive) and passed seven assists with 11 turnovers. Sara Dax had six points off the bench in 23 minutes.
Wisconsin-Parkside's Alyssa Nelson shot 8-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-5 from the 3-point line for 25 points. Nelson also notched two assists, two steals, seven rebounds, and all six free throw attempts. The Rangers finished 44.1-percent from the field (26-for-59), including 31.8-percent (7-for-22) from long range. Parkside nabbed 28 rebounds and 10 assists with four steals and three blocks. The Rangers were also 14-for-15 (93.3-percent) from the free throw line.
Michigan Tech surpassed 13 straight wins for the first time since 2010-11. They also won their 17th regular season GLIAC Title.
"It feels good," Trotter said when asked about the streak. We know we have to take it one game at a time because we have another important game tomorrow. So, like coach says, we are going to take 15 minutes to evaluate what we did well and what we didn't do well. Then we will come out tomorrow with a better mindset and hopefully grow a little bit more."
