By Brandon Veale

bveale@mininggazette.com

HOUGHTON – In most corners of the college basketball world, 19 wins and a third-place finish in a 16-team league would not be considered losing ground.

But it’s a jungle out there in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and after the Huskies fell just short of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years, Tech had a lot to think about during the summer.

“When it doesn’t end up how you want it to be, everyone’s in here double as much as usual and all you can think about is the shot you missed and the games you lost by one point and the rebounds that could have closed the game. It just really makes you work a lot harder,” forward Jillian Ritchie, one of two Tech seniors, said.

Tech went 19-9, 16-6 in the GLIAC North, but a loss to Northern Michigan in the semifinals of the league tournament (and a stolen automatic bid in the Great Lakes Valley) made the Huskies the first team out in the Midwest Region.

It doesn’t get much easier in the 2014-15 season, which begins with a road game at Minnesota Duluth today.

The Wildcats and all-GLIAC First Teamer Alyssa Colla remain strong, and though regular-season champ Wayne State and its dominant post player Shareta Brown were switched to the South Division, they’re being replaced by Hillsdale and GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year Megan Fogt.

That’s not counting consistent contender Grand Valley, 2013 national champion Ashland and improving squads at Saginaw Valley and Northwood, to name a few.

“It’s going to be crazy. It’s going to be a dogfight. At the same time, our players, we have game experience. We’re tough, and when you’re tough, it always gives you a chance. I like that about us,” Tech coach Kim Cameron said.

Tech has a lot to do with how tough the North Division is. The Huskies return all five starters and seven of their top eight scorers.

“We have actually challenged our team a little more as a whole to be able to do more things with the people that we have. I think we’re athletic, I think we’re quick, I think we’re small and fast,” Cameron said.

Leading scorer Mackenzie Perttu (15.4 ppg) is just getting back into the swing of things after treatment of an offseason injury, but is just part of a deep backcourt piloted by point guard Kerry Gardner, who averaged 12.3 points and 5.0 rebounds. Cameron said Gardner, a junior, is grasping her role at an even higher level, particularly on defense, where she can be a step ahead of her opponents.

“She was a very safe player. I think she is very comfortable in what we want from her now. I think she is ready to be more aggressive, I think she’s ready to be a steady, consistent scorer for us,” Cameron said.

Sophomores Morgan Anderson and Kelli Guy are capable of providing instant offense, as Anderson demonstrated with a 36-point night against Finlandia in exhibition play. Cameron calls Guy a sharpshooter of a caliber she hasn’t “seen anything like in a long time.”

“They’re very close as a whole, and it’s like they improved together,” she said.

In the frontcourt (see related article), Tech has junior Dani Blake, almost certainly the best defensive player in the GLIAC, and its only two seniors, Ritchie and center Emily Harrison.

“It’s definitely always on my mind. It’s always my last first practice, or my last first game and me and Emily both are taking advantage of every second in this gym. It’s definitely something that’s always on our mind, we’re never being lazy, we’re never taking any moment for granted,” Ritchie said.

The return of junior center Kylie Moxley from a back injury that knocked her out of the last 10 games of the 2013-14 season (in which the Huskies went 5-5) will also be a major boost.

“That’s pretty obvious, but I do think it takes time to learn how to play without someone. She’s a great individual player, but I think she makes everybody else that much better,” Cameron said.

The Huskies’ first regular season home game is Friday (5 p.m.) vs. No. 10-ranked Concordia-St. Paul. Tech will also host Minnesota State Nov. 29 before beginning league play at Malone Dec. 4.

Key GLIAC home games include the visit of defending regular season champ Wayne St. Dec. 13 and tournament champs NMU on Feb. 2 (a Monday).

“We as a whole need to make sure that we’re prepared for anything that comes at us,” Cameron said.

“If we continue to improve, if we honestly get better at one more thing every single day, we will be very good at the end. That’s exciting.”