Huskies' Defense Does Job in 58-40 Win over Tiffin
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tiffin (15-11) | 21 | 19 | 40 |
|
Michigan Tech (23-2) | 24 | 34 | 58 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech held serve in the opening round of the GLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament tonight, defeating Tiffin 58-40 at the SDC Gym. The Huskies limited the Dragons to 26 percent shooting and their season-low point total in winning for the 11th consecutive time out.
Tech improved to 24-2 overall and will now host the GLIAC Final Four in Houghton this weekend.
Foul trouble plagued the Huskies early, as both Lucy Dernovsek and Sam Hoyt picked up two fouls within the first 10 minutes. The Huskies offense sputtered a little bit, but the defense excelled.
Tech limited TU to six first-half field goals and managed to take a 24-21 lead into halftime. The Huskies closed the frame on a 5-0 run thanks to a Kate Glodowski 3-pointer and two free throws from Lisa Staehlin.
The hosts began the second half on a 15-5 run and the margin continued to grow to the final horn.
Lindsey Lindstrom had a monster game on the boards, pulling down a GLIAC Tournament record-tying 19 rebounds including 11 off the offensive glass. The 6-0 forward also had nine points, and was a big factor in Tiffin's poor shooting day. Lindstrom's defense limited the Dragon's Mandy Jaeb, who entered with a 15.6 scoring average, to just four points in essence (Jaeb hit a 3-pointer with less than two minutes left with Lindstrom on the bench).
Lisa Staehlin carried the load offensively with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. No other Husky reached double digits in points, although Dernovsek had twin figures in rebounds with 11.
"Our defense held them to 21 and kept us in the game in the first half with Lucy and Sam on the bench," said head coach Kim Cameron. "We challenged our players at half to hold them to 21 again in the second half and they did."
Actually, Tiffin registered just 19 points after halftime. Tech totaled 34 after the break.
The big difference on the stat sheet was rebounds, where the hosts piled up 51 compared to 30 for the Dragons. The Black and Gold shot 37 percent from the field including an uncharacteristic 29 percent from 3-point range.
Other than Michigan Tech, all three other GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal hosts were upset. That means Tech will play No. 7-seeded Hillsdale on Saturday (Mar. 5) in the first GLIAC Tournament semifinal game at 1 p.m. The other semifinal will feature No. 6-seeded Northwood vs. No. 5-seeded Ashland at 3 p.m. The GLIAC Championship game will be played Sunday (Mar. 6) at 2 p.m.
Notes: Lindstrom tied the GLIAC Tournament record held by Tech's Katie Wysocky, who had 19 boards at Gannon on Mar. 2, 2007 ... Tech improved to 29-16 all-time in GLIAC Tournament games.
