Isabella Lenz scores career-high 23 points for Huskies
WISCONSIN DELLS, WIS. – Michigan Tech women’s basketball senior guard Isabella Lenz tied her career-high with 23 points in the season opener, falling to Lewis, 68-57 at the Justagame Fieldhouse on Friday afternoon.
“I was really proud of the way we competed! We’re going through an insane amount of adversity with our team right now, but we never backed down and kept making runs,” said Tech head coach Sam Clayton. “Bella really stepped up and led us today on both sides of the ball. I also thought Kendall played really well and was aggressive for us offensively. If we can just shore up a few execution things, we’ll be just fine. Great opportunity to learn from it and respond tomorrow.”
Lewis (1-0) jumped out to a 5-0 start and maintained the lead for the rest of the game. Michigan Tech (0-1) cut the lead to a possession following a triple by sophomore Alyssa Wypych with 3:52 to go, although the Flyers ended the period on a 10-3 run (21-12).
The Black & Gold showcased two true freshmen in the starting lineup in Kendall Standfest and Kloe Zentkowski. Sophomore Dani Nuest also earned her first career start in the season opener.
Michigan Tech cut into the Flyers’ lead, making it a three-point game three times in the second quarter as Isabella Lenz and Kendall Standfest combined for 13 of the team’s 18 points in the stanza.
The Huskies played better in the second half, holding Lewis to 29 points while scoring 27. After opening the third quarter down by 11, the Black & Gold got back-to-back steals from Lenz, translating into a fastbreak jumper and a triple by Dani Nuest. Lenz then rattled off three more jumpers and a layup at the 2:28 mark to make it a one-point game, although the Flyers continued to hold a lead, ballooning back up to seven points by the end of the quarter.
Lewis used the seven-point cushion to its advantage and outscored the Huskies by four points in the final frame to claim the 68-57 decision.
First-year guard Kendall Standfest joined Lenz in double-figure scoring with 12 points and a team-leading eight rebounds in 31 minutes. Lenz, who logged a game-high 38 minutes also recorded two assists, two blocks and three steals. First-year Kloe Zentkowski had a notable seven game rebound in her first outing for the Black & Gold.
Taylor Gugliuzza (17 points) and Yahaira Bueno (13 points) combined for 30 points as the lone players in double-digit scoring for LU. Gabrielle Hoover and Ally Cesarini each recorded a team-leading seven rebounds.
Up Next
The Huskies conclude the D2 Midwest Region Tip-Off facing Thomas More, Saturday slated for a 1 p.m. tipoff.
