Michigan Tech guard Soraya Timms attempts a jump shot during a game against Purdue Northwest Saturday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Huskies women’s basketball team held the Purdue Northwest Pride to just 22 points in the second half, and they racked up a season-high 23 assists in a win, 73-46, Saturday at the SDC Gym.

With the win, the Huskies improved to 12-6 overall, and 6-4 in GLIAC play.

Sophomore guard Ella Mason paced the Huskies with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, setting a new career-high in 3-pointers.

“(It) feels good,” said Mason. “I mean, I feel like we’ve not had the greatest streak of games here. So, to get back on track at home, and get a good win, felt nice.”

Mason joked that the hoop looked very large.

“Today, the hoop was ginormous,” she said. “It’s not always like that, but I feel like once you hit three or four of them, they just feel like they come off your hand so easy.

“The hoop just felt double as wide today.”

Huskies coach Sam Clayton said she didn’t even realize how hot Mason was from 3-point land.

“Honestly, I did not even realize that,” she said. “When I looked at the stats after the game, I was like, she made seven. It didn’t even seem like that many, because it’s just so smooth and natural for her. She is a phenomenal shooter. We need to find ways to keep getting her looks.”

Behind Mason, the Huskies had sophomore guard Kendall Stanfest (12) and senior guard Soraya Timms (11) reach double-digit scoring.

Sophomore guard Kloe Zentkowski impressed in her first start of the season, recording a career-high eight assists while adding four points and five rebounds.

“I’m super proud of our team for being able to respond to a tough loss Thursday and a senior captain who’s a huge contributor for us. It was just great to see so many players step up in different ways,” said Clayton. “Kloe getting the start was phenomenal, and she had eight assists, which was impressive. Her and Maja needed to step up and they did. I also thought Bella Hanna came in and looked great.”

The Huskies gained separation early in the first quarter as Timms opened a perfect 3-3 from the field, including two 3-pointers, as junior guard Dani Nuest and Mason added treys to pull ahead 16-12 at the end of the quarter.

Both teams struggled to start the second quarter as the Pride shot 1-of-6 from the field and the Huskies went 2-of-7 off of two 3-pointers by Mason to see Michigan Tech ahead 22-15 by the media break. The Huskies finished the first half with seven made 3-pointers as Mason added another to make it 25-18 with 4:47 to play in the half.

Zentkowski and junior guard Alyssa Wypych added layups down the stretch to head into halftime leading 31-24.

The Huskies’ largest lead of the half came with 3:14 to play (27-18) and commanded the glass 26-14, including six offensive rebounds. Mason led the scorers through the first half with nine points as Timms added eight points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Zentkowski, in her first start of the season, produced three rebounds, three assists and a layup in 13 minutes of action.

Wypych scored five-straight points for the Huskies to start the third quarter with a triple and a layup before Mason cashed in on her fourth trey of the day, to extend the lead to 13 points, the largest of the day (39-26).

The Huskies hit four 3-pointers midway through the third quarter with two from Mason, and one each from Wypych and Timms to jump out to the largest lead of the day (45-28) with 6:15 remaining in the period.

Standfest concluded the third quarter with a jumper and a layup to cap a 26-9 scoring period to see the Huskies ahead 57-33 with one quarter to go.

The Huskies shot 55.9% from the field, adding a quarter-high six 3-pointers. The Huskies’ defense held the Pride to 4-of-14 in the quarter and just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Michigan Tech controlled the fourth quarter with six points from Standfest as freshman guard Aubrey Johnson added three free throws and Hanna, a freshman guard, recorded her first career block enroute to a 73-46 victory.

“I think for Bella, for Kloe, it was a great game,” said Clayton. “For them to know that they’re capable. For them to gain that confidence within our offense, within our defense, of being able to execute what we do, play their positions well, and have fun out there, that’s a huge part of it.”

Alyssa Cole (14) and Cameryn Phillips (11) reached double-figure scoring. Cole also had a team-leading seven rebounds.

Up next

The Huskies return to the road next week, traveling to Davenport on Thursday and No. 1 Grand Valley State Saturday.