Michigan Tech guard Isabella Lenz drives around a pair of Wayne State defenders during a GLIAC quarterfinal match on Wednesday, March 1, at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — By most units of measure, the Michigan Tech women’s basketball program had a excellent 2022-23 season that saw them go 25-7 with their only back-to-back losses coming in their final two games, first to Grand Valley State in the GLIAC championship game, and then to Trevecca Nazarene in the NCAA Midwest quarterfinals.

The Huskies beat Minnesota-Duluth and lost to Ashland in non-conference play and both of those two met in the national championship game.

“I do think it was a great year, 25-7, especially with the competition,” said coach Sam Clayton. “We played Ashland, Grand Valley, Ferris (State), we played Minnesota-Duluth. I mean, both those teams were in the national championship, so we always have a tough schedule. I think 25-7 was something to be proud of, but I also think none of our girls, or our coaching staff, were satisfied with that.”

The goals for this year are simple.

“After the season, looking back, we all want to be better,” Clayton said. “We want to win the conference, not be second in the conference. We want to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, not just make the NCAA Tournament. So, that’s kind of the goal looking forward to this year, as we reflected back on last year, is really just to take another step.

“We do have a big core of our team returning.”

That core Clayton is talking about includes four of the top five scorers from last season. While the Huskies are without guard Ellie Mackay and her 13.5 points per game, they will have three starting guards back in junior Isabella Lenz, fifth-year Alex Rondorf, and fifth-year Katelyn Meister. Add to that trio senior forward Sara Dax, and the Huskies have a formidable starting lineup, even if they are not sure who the fifth will be yet.

With all of that firepower returning, the Huskies are picked to finish third in the GLIAC. Clayton knows that she will have to manage expectations early, so she is bringing the focus down to staying in the moment.

“We really talk about being present and focusing on the one practice that you’re at, and the one possession that you’re in, of that practice, and just being your best in the moment, whatever it is,” she said. “If it’s that you’re in help side in that moment, or pressuring the ball, but really focusing on just what you do need to do right now, even in the midst of a game.”

Lenz grew into a leader last season for the Huskies. As teams focused defensively on Mackay, Lenz went from being a 5.0 points-per-game player to a 13.8 ppg player, which was tops for the team. This year, she has been voted to the All-GLIAC preseason team.

“She transformed as a player,” said Clayton, “and I think she’s taken another big step this preseason, which is crazy to think about. I’m excited for our fans. She was one of those players, even as a sophomore last year, who was putting the weight of the world on her shoulders. I could tell in the way she was playing, she was putting all that pressure on herself.

“So, she was playing a little tight. But then, when you saw her kind of open up, and ‘OK, it’s everybody. I just have to do what I can.’ She was able to play a little bit more loosely. You really saw her come out of her shell and play more confidently.”

Having Rondorf return will help keep some of that pressure off of Lenz. Rondorf plays with a level of composure that cannot be taught.

“When Alex told us she was coming back, which was after the season last year, two weeks after the season, it was like a relief,” Clatyon said. “It was like a sigh of, ‘All right, we have that composure in the backcourt again, and that shooting ability and that defensive urgency.’ I mean, she’s getting tips everywhere. She was our leading rebounder as a guard. So, to get her back, it is a calming presence.”

Rondorf can act like a coach on the floor, which really helps get Clayton’s message across to the players.

“She’s been here six years, so she knows exactly what I want,” said Clayton. “She can lead the team when I’m not around, or even if I’m there and I don’t see things, she knows exactly what I’m looking for. Having her presence as a leader, as a player, as a person, she’s the most selfless person. So, her example of being a great teammate is just maybe the biggest benefit we get to have. Our freshmen get to see, ‘Hey, this is how you’re supposed to do it in every aspect on and off the floor.'”

In Meister, the Huskies will have another five-year player on the floor in key moments. She took a step backwards scoring-wise last season, but Clayton said that is due to how unselfish a player she is on the court.

“I just cannot say enough good things about her,” Clayton said. “She’s going to surprise everybody this year, because I don’t think people know how good of a scorer she is. She is so unselfish.

“We have a lot of scorers. Our offensive efficiency last year was phenomenal, but Kate has shot 50% from the floor every year. She just doesn’t take that many shots. But, I think this year, thus far in the preseason, she’s been a little more aggressive, which we need, because she can really score it at the basket. Her footwork, her fakes (are) so patient, so smart.”

In Dax, Clayton and her staff tasked her with being a post player, despite being 6-foot-1. However, all Dax has done is thrive in the role.

“I’ve really come to trust her in the post position, even though she wasn’t even necessarily recruited as a post,” said Clayton. “She was supposed to play that forward position on the perimeter a little bit more. But, with the injuries we’ve had over the past three years, we’ve been so short in the post that she’s become our starting post for three years. Which is crazy.

“She works so hard. She’s so tough. She’s physical in there even when she’s undersized. Then she can take advantage, because she can play on the perimeter or in the post. Now that she has the experience that she’s gotten over the past few years, I just trust her.”

The Huskies have four incoming freshmen, and all four are guards. Clayton feels that any of the four, Alyssa Wypych, Dani Nuest, Maggie Napont, and Brittney Mislivecek, could step in and have a role this season if they want it. However, she feels that Wypych could have an immediate impact due to her versatility.

“It really could be any of them,” said Clayton. “Thus far, Alyssa Wypych has really stepped up, because she’s had to play four different positions all throughout the preseason, depending on who’s out in any given week, and things like that. She’s been good in every spot. So, she’s just that utility player. If we need here, she’s going to go here. If we need here, she’s going to go here. Because she can do that, she could play 30 minutes a game. Because she’s playing this spot and that spot. She’s so good defensively. She’s athletic, she’s strong, she can shoot it, she can post up, she can get stops on people one through five.

“So (I am) really excited for her.”

Clayton also likes what she sees out of Mislivecek and Nuest.

“Brittney Mislivecek, another really good athlete, can really shoot it,” Clayton said. “(She has a) tough, tough jumper. She has to take some steps defensively yet, but if she gets there, that could help.

“Dani Nuest is a point guard. We’ve been kind of lacking in that position, so if she can have the composure to playpoint against our competition, which could take a little while to learn. That’s the tough spot. But, she’s another one (that) could help us.”

The Huskies’ season opens Friday and Saturday as they play host to William Jewell and Lewis, respectively, with opening tipoff set for 6 p.m.