The Huskies picked up a road win over the Lakers

SAULT STE. Marie, me. – Michigan Tech dominated basketball and got a late layup hoop to secure a 16-71 win over Lake Superior State Saturday afternoon at Ronald Cooper Gymnasium. Four players reached double figures as the Huskies overcame early shooting woes to improve to 9-2 in GLIAC play (17-4 overall).

Isabella Lenz led the team with 18 points and four rebounds. Ellie Mackay and Sloane Zenner finished with 11 points and Alex Rondorff with a double-double and 10 rebounds. Mathison Reiman (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Grace Bradford (11 points, 13 rebounds) had double-doubles for LSSU.

The teams traded leads in the first quarter, but LSSU held Tech to 32 percent shooting and took a 30-28 edge into halftime. Zenner’s 3-point basket to start the fourth put the Huskies back on top and Lenz added a three with five to play.

Rondorff’s long layup with 3:05 left pushed MTU to an 11-point spread, and the Huskies held off Lake Superior State despite back-to-back triples by Margot Wuther. Woughter finished with 17 points.

“We gave up too many lineups early in the game and the score in the paint was 22 to 6 at the half,” head coach Sam Clayton said. “We focused on stopping the lob pass and driving on the baseline. Our defensive urgency improved and it was good to see us take care of the ball.

Our decision-making was a strong point and we got some good looks on the flanks and outside. We can get back in the gym this week and hopefully, our shooting percentage will bounce back next week.

The Huskies committed just five turnovers (15 assists) and forced 15 from the Lakers. Rohndorff led the defense with three steals and three offensive rebounds. LSSU struggled at the free throw line and made 11-of-18 (61-percent).

Michigan Tech shot 32-percent (18-56) overall, including 30-percent (8-27) from beyond the arc. Lake Superior State held a 39-31 rebound advantage.

With Saturday afternoon’s win at Grand Valley State, the Huskies moved into second place in the GLIAC standings with seven regular season games remaining. Tech will play Wayne State again Thursday at SDC Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m