Michigan Tech guard Alyssa Wypych drives between a pair of Lewis defenders during a game Saturday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — With an 83-64 victory on Saturday, the Michigan Tech Huskies women’s basketball team earned a sweep of a pair of GLVC opponents at the SDC Gym this weekend. Hosting the GLIAC/GLVC crossover, the Huskies defeated William Jewell on Friday, 76-57, before topping Lewis Saturday to move to 2-0 on the season.

HUSKIES TOP FLYERS SATURDAY

While junior guard Isabella Lenz only had 10 points on the night, the Huskies’ offense was spread out amongst nine scorers, including six in double figures, in a balanced victory over the Flyers.

The Huskies were led in scoring by freshman guard Alyssa Wypych and senior guard Alex Rondorf, both of whom had 14 points. Also in double figures were senior guard Katelyn Meister and junior forward Emma Anderson, who both had 12 points, and senior guard Tessa Leece, who put up 10.

Getting scoring from so many different players was something that Huskies coach Sam Clayton felt very happy about.

“That is a really nice part about our team,” she said. “We don’t have just one player that can score it that needs to be the one to make the big shot. Multiple players made big shots tonight when they (the Flyers) were going on their runs. Alyssa hit a big three. Kate had some nice finishes at the rim where we needed a bucket or had great passes, drop off passes.

“So, it is comforting to me, because I know, wherever I feel like we have our advantage, we can go to that person, that game, or that person just in that situation, and it can be seven, eight, nine players that we can go to.”

Wypych, who scored 14 points against the Cardinals on Friday, hit some key shots in some big moments against the Flyers. While she was happy to contribute, she was also quick to point out that she is just one piece in a larger puzzle for the Huskies.

“Everyone on our team is capable of going off,” she said. “To be able to contribute, it’s for our team. It’s for the team. It’s nice, but I know all of us are capable of doing it.”

Being the lone freshman to start alongside four upperclassmen, Wypych feels that having so much experience alongside her is vital to her development.

“It’s extremely helpful,” she said. “I mean, everyone makes mistakes, but there’s some times where I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s definitely a freshman mistake right there.’ They always have my back and if it takes pushing me, literally pushing me out, I’m thankful that they’re willing to, they’re comfortable enough to be like, ‘Hey, you need to get there.’

“Everything’s a learning experience, and to have that much veteran knowledge behind me, it makes me (feel) like I know they have my back, and that they’re going to help me.”

Wypych opened the scoring in the contest with a three from the left side just 1:15 in. The Flyers responded to that basket with a three of their own from guard Grace Hilber, who led all shooters with 22 points.

As well as the Huskies played, especially offensively, they had trouble shutting down Hilber and guard Jenna Badali, who finished with 13 points.

“Our game plan was to try to take (No.) 3 away, and Hilber, she still had 22 points,” said Clayton. “They were tough jumpers. I don’t even know what you can do on some of those. We tried a little bit of length on her. We switched Kate on her, probably too late in the game. Should have done that earlier, but that did seem to slow her down.

“Badali, too, was another one that can just get to the rim and create. We did a good job on her, just staying vertical and not fouling her at the basket. She had some tough finishes that we have to live with, but, overall, (we) slowed them down enough, did enough, and made them make tough shots, which is all you can ask.”

One answer the Huskies had throughout the night as the Flyers’ guards pressed was Meister, who finished with seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals to go along with her 12 points. She seemed to find ways to contribute all over the floor for the Huskies.

“Any way that I can contribute, I love it,” she said. “Offensively or defensively, whether it’s inside or outside, whether it’s getting rebounds or running the floor, any chance that I have to contribute, I definitely take it as something that’s honorable, especially on our team. We have so many versatile players, and so many players that can score the ball, and make those hustle plays. So, I think finding a way to contribute definitely means a lot to me, and I just love being able to help this team get some wins.”

The Huskies also had big efforts from Leece and Anderson, much to the delight of Clayton.

“Our yoopers, Tessa and Emma, crushed it,” Clayton said. “This is the most confident I’ve seen them play, aggressive, and they were both instrumental in this win. Tessa had some great cuts with finishes at the rim. She shot the ball well. Then Emma, it’s just so nice, because she can finish at the rim, and then she can step out and hit those threes, too. It just makes her really tough to guard.

“So, (I) was really happy to see those two play well. We need that. We need that for our depth. We need that for the versatility and scoring.”

HUSKIES OPEN WITH WIN OVER CARDINALS

The Huskies saw three players in double-figure scoring in the 76-57 season-opening win against William Jewell.

“We’re happy to get a win to start the season,” said Clayton. “We didn’t know what was going to happen with William Jewell-they got a new head coach and it was pretty evident in the first quarter–we didn’t know how we were guarding certain actions, but I thought our girls adjusted well after and we were able to slow them down in the second and third quarter.

“I thought Bella and Kate had big games for us, making big shots and being able to create with their pressure-I was happy with our performance.”

Lenz made her presence known in the first quarter, scoring 10 of her team-leading 20 points in the opening frame.Wypych made her first career start for the Black and Gold, also connecting from deep halfway through the first quarter to give the Huskies its biggest lead of the game at 14-8.

The Huskies played lock-down defense in the second quarter, holding the Cardinals to eight points on 4-of-15 from the field and 0-of-6 from long range. Meister accounted for seven of her 14 points in the second quarter, scoring seven consecutive points for the Huskies before halftime. Meister’s takeover came at the perfect time, allowing MTU’s lead to swell to 34-24 before Sara Dax made it a 12-point game heading into halftime.

Michigan Tech scored on their first three shots to open the second half, with Dax connecting on a jump shot and layup with a Lenz jumper between the two baskets.

The Huskies scored a quarter-high 22 points in the third quarter, with freshman Brittney Mislivecek and Maja Kozlowska scoring their first points of the season in the frenzy.

William Jewell was held to 5-of-14 from the field while the Huskies shot 56.3 percent on 9-of-16 to enter the final frame with the largest lead of the game at 58-38.

Wypych, who played 31 minutes in her career-opener, went 2-for-3 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter to cap her first game with 14 points. Meister added three free throws and a layup to bring her to 16 points on the game.

The Huskies reserves chipped in for 11 points, with Lydia Schiable going 2-for-2 from the charity stripe and Leece connecting on a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter before the final buzzer sounded, seeing Michigan Tech win. Leece also grabbed a career-high five rebounds in 25 minutes of action.

Despite the Black and Gold amassing 15 turnovers compared to the Cardinals 7, the Huskies pulled down 17 offensive rebounds paired with 34 defensive rebounds.

Lenz led the Huskies offensively with 20 points, while Meister (16 points) and Wypych (14 points) also scored in double-digits. Rondorf had a team-high seven rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end.

The Cardinals were led by Shannon Ayden with 23 points while Emree Zars collected a team-leading six rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Huskies will host another pair of non-conference opponents this weekend. They will face Southwest Minnesota State Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Ashland on Sunday at 1 p.m.