The Huskies pushed that advantage to 23, 66-43, by the end of the third quarter, then held off a charge late to earn a 75-62 victory at the SDC Gym.

Multiple Huskies had strong days, including freshman guard Kendall Standfest, who led all scorers with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, and senior guard Isabella Lenz, who racked up 15.

For Lenz, having a big afternoon on Senior Day was what she had been hoping for coming into the game. However, what she wants from her herself and her teammates is for them to play with focus over their last four games.

“I think we have, obviously, had a lot of ups and downs this season, and it’s honestly just a matter of playing to our potential every game,” she said. “That comes with energy, what we bring each game, and, especially, away games. I think, heading into next week. I know we’re home for Thursday, I think against Northern, but I have another away game next week. We need to bring that same energy and intensity. I think there’s things we can learn from this game. We had a few mishaps towards the end of the game, but I think there’s a lot of other things that we did really well.”

Members of the Michigan Tech and Lake Superior State women’s basketball teams pose before the game at the SDC Gym in Houghton Saturday, which was played in celebration of Play4Kay, a movement in sports that raises awareness in the battle against cancer. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

Huskies coach Sam Clayton was pleased with a lot of what she saw from her team, which ended a three-game losing streak to improve to 10-14 overall and 7-9 in GLIAC play with the victory.

“Happy with the win,” she said. “I think we needed to kind of turn things around and get back in the win column. So that’s a big one today. To do it at home, to do it on Senior Day, to get that win for Bella, Emma (Anderson) and (Mary)ellen (Trewhella), I know means a lot. (We) did a lot of things well for most of the game, where we were able to score in the paint, get high percentage shots. (We) obviously let things go there a little bit in the fourth, didn’t finish our layups, turned it over a little too much. But, in general, happy to come away with a win.”

Anderson started the game strong with a layup off the glass just over two minutes in, and then later hit a 3-pointer in the late stages of the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, Standfest started to make things happen by driving to the basket, drawing attention and fouls. She put up 10 points in the quarter after just one in the first.

“I love her being more aggressive,” Clayton said. “She’s taking some tough shots, but she’s making some of them. Her jumper’s so tough. She shoots it well from three. She can get to the rim and another one. But, she also just makes good decisions. She doesn’t force. She finds people. She rebounds like crazy.

So, (she is) doing a lot of things well for us. I think, as a freshman, that just speaks volumes at this point in the season. It’s a long season compared to high school, so this is kind of like a second wind for her. A lot of times you can see freshmen kind of taper off at the end of the season, some fatigue and things like that. But, she’s just coming on strong right now, hitting her stride, getting her confidence. So (that’s) really great to see.”

In the third quarter, Lenz joined Standfest as the two went back and forth to help the Huskies push their 21-point lead at half into a 23-point advantage. Lenz picked 10 points in the third quarter, and Standfest added nine. Lenz, who had Thursday against Ferris State, shot 54.5% or better over the two games at home.

“I think Thursday and Saturday, she kind of came back to life for us, and is playing like she’s capable,” said Clayton. “It helps when other people are stepping up, so she doesn’t have that pressure. Kendall, one, Janie (Tormanen), the other one, both have had a couple good games here, and players that can consistently do that for us, where it takes a little bit of the weight off Bella’s shoulders, (then) she can just play freely.”

Clayton really liked how the Huskies’ offense bounced back from a tough week prior.

“Both games, I thought our offense flowed a lot better, got ball reversals, high percentage shots,” she said. “So, that is great to see. We need that confidence heading into the rest of the season. If we play like we’re capable, we can beat anybody in our conference. It’s just finishing like we’re capable. It’s playing a full 40. I thought, both games, we just didn’t finish great in the fourth Thursday and Saturday. So, really, being able to finish out strong, then we’re capable of anything.”

UP NEXT

The Huskies have one last game at home against Northern Michigan Thursday. The opening tip is set for 5:30 p.m.