Michigan Tech guard Kloe Zentkowski (left), forward Maja Kozlowska (32), guard Soraya Timms (middle), guard Dani Nuest (3), and guard Kendall Standfest (right), discuss strategy during a break in a game against Northern Michigan Thursday at Vandament Arena in Marquette. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

MARQUETTE — The Michigan Tech Huskies women’s basketball team led by as many as 10 points in the first half and held a four-point edge with 1:21 to play in the third quarter, before ultimately losing to No. 20-ranked Northern Michigan, 68-57, at Vandament Arena Thursday evening.

The Huskies (15-10, 9-8 GLIAC) were led by 17 points from senior guard Soraya Timms and 10 from sophomore guard Ella Mason. Sophomore guard Kendall Standfest added eight points and a team-best nine rebounds. Junior forward Maja Kozlowska also chipped in eight points and five rebounds in almost 21 minutes of action.

“The story of the game was definitely rebounds–for a team that can score like they can, you’re not going to keep getting stops,” said Huskies coach Sam Clayton. “Their guards were beating us to the ball and credit to NMU, they played hard and we came out with a ton of energy and played well, just not well enough in the second half.”

Michigan Tech came ready for the moment and had a promising first half, shooting 58.3% through two quarters while hitting 6-of-11 3-pointers.

Timms was a near-perfect 4-of-5 shooting in the half from downtown and added two free throws to lead all scorers with 14 points while dishing out three assists. Junior guard Dani Nuest was once again a spark off the bench with two 3-pointers (2-of-2).

Meanwhile, Northern Michigan (22-5, 13-4 GLIAC) was held to 33.3% from the field and 6-of-19 from trey to be trailing the Huskies 38-32 entering halftime with C.J. Romero (10), Addison Pytleski (eight) and Jacy Weisbrod (eight) all hitting two 3-pointers in the half.

After leading by four following free throws by Mason with 1:21 to go in the third quarter, the Wildcats finished strong, with an 8-0 run capped by a fastbreak 3-pointer by Weisbroad to take a four-point edge and the momentum into the final period.

The Huskies earned four points early in the fourth by Kozlowska and Standfest to tie the game at 51-all with 7:34 to play, although back-to-back 3-pointers put the home team back ahead by six before the media timeout at 5:28.

The Wildcats lead was cut to two points off a layup by Kozlowska and an assist by Timms, but the Huskies would fail to score down the stretch, as Northern Michigan went 6-of-8 from the charity stripe the final 42 seconds to decide the game 68-57, backed by eight offensive rebounds in the final quarter.

Weisbrod led a trio of Wildcats in double-figure scoring with 16 points. Alyssa Hill pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go with four points.

Scouting the Bulldogs

The Ferris State Bulldogs come into Monday’s game 21-4 overall and 14-2 in GLIAC play after defeating Lake Superior State Monday. They beat the Huskies in the first matchup between the two teams, 73-64, on Saturday, Jan. 10.

The Bulldogs are led by senior guard Kadyn Blanchard, who averages 16.6 points per game. She is joined by senior guard Mia Riley, who averages 16.2 points per game.

Senior forward Mya Hiram has also been good, averaging 12.1 points per game. Senior guard Emma Schierbeek rounds out the offense with 10.9 points per game.

Up next

The Huskies conclude a four-game road trip with a tricky Monday contest at Ferris State, slated for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff, before closing the regular season with home games on Thursday and Saturday facing Wisconsin-Parkside and Roosevelt.