Preview: MTU women’s basketball continues homestand

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech women's basketball continues its homestand this weekend with two games against Lake Superior State (1-3) at SDC Gymnasium. Both games will be broadcast on Mix 93.5 and Stretch Internet Portal livestream. The Huskies (3-1) split against Northwood last weekend and defeated the Timberwolves 67-48 Saturday in Houghton. Michigan Tech shares the GLIAC North Division lead with rival Northern Michigan. The two teams are scheduled to play one another on Tuesday night.

LAST TIME OUT: The Huskies suffered their first defeat of the year Friday against Northwood 58-56, then rebounded to win 67-48 against the same opponent the following day. In game one, the Huskies defended well after the first quarter but struggled to rebound and came up just short on the game's final possession. Saturday, Ellie Mackay scored 18 points and Jordan Ludescher played well inside to lift the Huskies over the undefeated Timberwolves. Tech held Northwood to just 24-percent shooting and broke open the game with a 15-4 scoring run in the third quarter. Michigan Tech drove to the basket in volume with 46 points in the paint and limited turnovers to 12 with 15 assists.

REJECTING SHOTS: The Huskies rank sixth in NCAA Division II for blocked shots per game. Concord leads the nation in the category at 8.2 blocks per contest. Tech leads the conference with 25 blocks for 6.2 blocks per game. Katelyn Meister has seven blocks and 1.75 blocks per game, which ranks 30^th in the nation. Sloane Zenner has five blocks and Cassidy Trotter, Alex Rondorf, and Jordan Ludescher all have three. The Huskies marked a season high 10 blocks on Friday against Northwood.

CATEGORY LEADERS

Points – Ellie Mackay, 13.5 PPG

Rebounds – Jordan Ludescher, 5.5 RPG

Assists – Baillie McGirk, 3.5 APG

Blocks – Katelyn Meister, 1.3 BPG

Steals – 3 players with 1.3 SPG 

LUDESCHER TRACKER: Jordan Ludescher got off to a slow start shooting Friday (3-for-10) but still finished with nine points, four rebounds, and a pair of blocks. The redshirt sophomore has been integral to the Huskies inside shooting effort so far this season. Saturday, Ludescher helped the Huskies with 15 points (7-for-14) over 26 minutes. She narrowly missed a double-double after adding eight rebounds. Ludescher ranks second on the squad with 11.3 points per game and leads in rebounds at 5.5 per game.

SOPHOMORE SUPPORT: Sloane Zenner marked six points in each of Tech's games against Northwood. Zenner (Houghton, Michigan) has been a steady presence of scoring support since making her debut last season. Before injuries forced her from the lineup, Zenner scored 7.9 points per game in 2019-20 and had a season high 14 points, eight rebounds. This year she is matching that pace and also nabbing 3.5 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS: Lake Superior State dropped two games to Wayne State to begin the season, then picked up a home split against Purdue Northwest last weekend. In their most recent contest, the Lakers fell 61-52 to PNW and were limited to five points in the first quarter.

Sophomore forward Mattison Rayman leads LSSU with 15.5 points per game. The Otsego, Michigan native started all 27 games as a freshman and led the team in rebounding. Rayman holds a 52.4-percent shooting percentage, all from 2-point range with 5.5 rebounds per game. In four starts, Sophomore Margot Woughter sees the court longest for the Lakers. She plays 28.8 minutes per game and has produced 14.0 points and 4.0 rebounds so far. 

The Lakers score 56.3 points per game and collect 28.3 rebounds with a 70.9-percent free throw percentage. Head coach Brandon Lokken is in his fourth season as head coach. In his first three seasons, the Lakers went 19-60 overall, 9-51 in GLIAC play. LSSU compiled an 8-19 overall record during the 2019-20 season. Seniors Rebecca Villanueva and Taylor Bryant fill the roles left by four important graduated players from the previous season. Five freshmen and two transfers were also added to the roster this fall.

Lake Superior State received 11 votes in the GLIAC Pre-Season Coaches' Poll and were projected to finish sixth in the North Division.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Northern Michigan is coming off a weekend split with Saginaw Valley State, having dropped game one by a close 56-52 margin before bounding back to dominate in the second game, 61-45. NMU had three individuals post double-digit points. GLIAC North Division Player of the Week (January 11) Makaylee Kuhn posted a double-double with 16 points, 13 rebounds, which were both team highs.

The Wildcats fell in the GLIAC quarterfinals a year ago to Wisconsin-Parkside and finished 13-16 overall (10-10 GLIAC). NMU brought back several talented veterans, including Kuhn, who had an impressive rookie season and has already been an impact player on both ends of the floor in 2021. Other top returners include guards Elizabeth Lutz and Elena Alaix.

Troy Mattson has been at the helm of the Northern Michigan women's basketball team since 2005. He has posted 205 wins as head coach, and his teams have qualified for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament nine-straight seasons.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: In a marquee matchup, Grand Valley State (4-0) won back-to-back games at home against Ashland (2-2) last weekend and moved up to No. 5 in the D2SIDA Women's Basketball National Ranking Poll on Tuesday, up two spots. The losses dropped Ashland from No. 2 in the nation to No. 21. Wayne State, Michigan Tech, and Northern Michigan are the only teams with exactly one loss at current.

Ferris State freshman guard Kadyn Blanchard averaged 32 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 steals to claim North Division Player of the Week. In the south, sophomore forward Annie Roshak (Ashland) took the honors. Roshak came off the bench Saturday and in her first collegiate start, posted 32 points, going 10 of 19 from the floor 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and 9 of 9 from the free throw line. 

Northern Michigan (3-1) is at Ferris State for games Friday and Saturday before they travel to play the Huskies Tuesday night in Houghton.