Michigan Tech guard Soraya Timms drives towards the basket during a game against Saginaw Valley State Saturday at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Huskies women’s basketball team returned home last week looking to right the ship after a tough stretch where they dropped three out of four games in the two weeks prior. With wins Thursday over Lake Superior State and Saturday over Saginaw Valley State, the Huskies did just that.

Michigan Tech improved to 14-8 overall and 8-6 in GLIAC play. They sit fifth in the conference and face one of the teams ahead of them this week in Wayne State.

“I think they were huge wins,” said Huskies coach Sam Clayton. “Getting to play at home in front of our fans and our Pep Band, giving us that energy, always great to get them at home. But, what I’d like to tell our girls is, ‘We can’t focus on the outcome, though. We wanted to win, but it couldn’t be OK, we need to win these games, (but rather) really focusing on one possession at a time.

“I thought, overall, they embraced that and played with that grit, because both teams gave us everything they had and both. Both are good teams. For us to be able to respond, when both teams made some good runs against us, was just great to see.”

The Huskies are having to do it without their senior forward Janie Tormanen, which makes what seems to be happening even more exciting.

One player who is embracing the stretch run is sophomore guard Kendall Standfest. Thursday, she racked up a season-high, and career-high, 26 points, added 17 rebounds, and was just three assists away from a triple-double.

“It’s great to see Kendall stepping into her own,” said Clayton. “We’ve all kind of seen what she was capable of freshman year, but even more so, I think, this year she had a ton of pressure on her, just to be honest. She was voted to the preseason All-Conference (team), and last year had to do a lot for us. So, I think she kind of felt that and felt like she had to do a ton for us.

“It was great to see other players step up early in the season and do some of that scoring, that rebounding, so she’s not able to play a little bit lighter now, and she’s able to play a lot more confident now.

Clayton pointed out that Standfest’s current streak of games in double figures started with the Huskies’ first matchup against the Warriors Thursday, Jan. 22.

“She had a great game, actually, against Wayne when we played him last time, and kind of that got her going and sparked her,” Clayton said. “She’s been playing great ever since. She’s capable, but she knows she doesn’t have to do it herself, which is the great part about having a nice, balanced team where anybody can step up. Even when we have a senior captain out. All right, we have other players to step up and step into roles.”

Alongside Standfest, sophomore guard Ella Mason continues to shine. She had just six points Saturday against the Cardinals before exploding for 13 more points in the fourth quarter.

“It’s great to see we got some young players playing really well, because both of them have stepped up for us, and made huge shots, or gotten huge stops,” said Clayton. “Ella’s charge late in that game (Saturday) was also a defining moment for us, and Kendall’s always coming up with blocks, obviously. GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week, so, they’re doing it offensively, but they’re also doing it defensively.

“They’re leading us by putting in the time. They get in the gym a ton, and that sets the tone for everybody else. But to see just our younger players, we have four sophomores. I know Soraya is a senior academically, but she has two more years of eligibility left. This is only her second year of basketball. So, between her, Ella, Kendall, Kloe (Zentkowski), all sophomores, with Alyssa (Wypych), a junior, in our starting lineup.”

Scouting the Pride

The Purdue Northwest Pride come into this weekend 3-19 overall and 1-13 in GLIAC play. They are coming off a pair of losses to No. 1 Grand Valley State and Davenport. They lost to the Huskies earlier this season, 73-46, but that does not mean they will be easy to beat again.

Senior forward Alyssa Cole leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game. She also rebounds well, averaging 6.7 rebounds per contest as well.

Sophomore guard Ciara Sims averages 10.6 points per game. Sophomore guard Riley Milausnic rounds out their top scorers, averaging 10.0 points per game.

Scouting the Warriors

The Wayne State Warriors are 16-6 overall and 11-3 in GLIAC play after a weekend that saw them beat Davenport on Thursday and follow that effort up with a 78-77 win over Grand Valley Saturday. They beat the Huskies, 86-83, earlier this season.

Junior guard McKenna Ferguson leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game. Senior forward Taylor Thompson has also been very good, averaging 15.1 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game as well.

Fifth-year forward Gabi Lutchka rounds out their offense, averaging 13.6 points per game.

Game times

The Huskies and Pride will face off Thursday at 6 p.m. at John Friend Court in Hammond, Indiana. Saturday, the Huskies and the Warriors will battle at the Wayne State Fieldhouse at 1 p.m.