Huskies Roll Past Northwood 69-46
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Northwood (1-8,0-2 GLIAC) | 10 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 46 |
|
Michigan Tech (3-6,1-1 GLIAC) | 16 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 69 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team recorded an impressive 69-46 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win against Northwood University Saturday afternoon at the SDC Gym. The Huskies never trailed, completely taking the Timberwolves out of any kind of rhythm.
"I thought our team responded really well today after suffering some tough losses coming in," Michigan Tech Head Coach Sam Hoyt said. "We played with confidence and did a much better job executing offensively. We had a good post presence from a variety of different players this afternoon. They did a solid job of demanding the ball and we moved it around which gave us more of a rhythm. Defensively, to hold Northwood to 46 points was great for us and overall, I'm really proud of how our players responded today.
"We now have a week to prepare for a very good Northern Michigan team that has good height and will really try to slow us down. They defend well in the half court so it is going to be important that we continue to improve offensively and continue to score inside. We will also have to find ways to limit them in the paint and it's a rivalry game so it will be a battle."
Michigan Tech (3-6, 1-1 GLIAC) got on the board first when sophomore Cassidy Trotter worked her way to the basket for a layup with one minute elapsed in the first quarter. Northwood (1-8, 0-2 GLIAC) countered to tie the contest at 2-2 when Sophia Dimilia cashed in a layup at the 8:24 mark in the first frame. Senior Hannah Hobson and sophomore Ellie Mackay then tossed in back to back field goals to send the Huskies into the lead 6-2 with 6:51 on the clock.
The Timberwolves remained within two possessions through the first quarter, but the Huskies never relinquished the lead following the two buckets by Hobson and Mackay early in the period. Trotter closed out the first quarter for Tech with a pair of successful free throws, giving the Huskies a 16-10 advantage with 10 minutes in the books.
Northwood climbed back to within four points at 16-12 on an Ellie Taylor layup in the opening minute of the second quarter. However, the Huskies created a more comfortable gap on the strength of an 8-0 scoring run. Hobson answered Taylor's basket with one of her own followed by two free throws from Trotter and two additional field goals courtesy of Hobson capped the scoring burst.
Tech took a 32-19 lead into the locker room at halftime and continued to pull away from the Timberwolves throughout the second half. The Huskies outpaced Northwood 19-13 in the third quarter and then closed the game with an 18-14 advantage in fourth quarter scoring.
The Huskies were led by Mackay who poured in a game high 19 points while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out four assists. Hobson posted 12 points and had a season high seven rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Senior Abbie Botz added nine points and Trotter finished the contest with eight points and a team high eight rebounds and six assists.
The Huskies found success on 29 of 59 shots from the floor (49.2%), were 3 of 15 from three-point range (20.0%), and 8 for 10 at the free throw line (80.0%). Tech had 24 total assists and recorded 40 of their points in the paint Saturday afternoon. They forced 18 Northwood turnovers which led to 15 points on the offensive end of the floor.
Tech's defense limited the Timberwolves to only 18 field goals out of 59 total attempts (30.5%), were 3 of 17 from three-point land (17.6%), and 7 of 14 from the free throw line (50.0%). Rebounds on Saturday were even at 36 between the two sides.
The Huskies will return to the court next Sunday to host rival Northern Michigan University in the SDC Gym. The tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. eastern time.
