Six Huskies score in double figures
HOUGHTON, Mich. – For the second-straight game, the Michigan Tech women’s basketball team saw four starters post double-figure scoring, led by sophomore guard Alyssa Wypych with 16 points in the home opening victory over Bemidji State 85-57, at the SDC Gymnasium on Friday evening.
First-year guard Kendall Standfest recorded her second-consecutive double-double with 15 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds. Veteran guard Isabella Lenz had a quiet but effective outing with 14 points on 6-for-7 from the field.
Graduate transfer Janie Tormanen neared a double-double in her first career game for the Black & Gold with 12 points and eight boards. Sophomore guard Dani Nuest has scored in double-figures in back-to-back games with 11 points connecting on two triples.
Michigan Tech moves to 2-1 through non-conference play as Bemidji State falls to 0-1 in its season opener.
“I think we shared the ball really well–statistically we had 18 assists to only eight turnovers–I think that’s a great stat we’re hoping to keep moving forward. We still had some silly turnovers but we have a lot of young players playing a lot of minutes and learning but we shared the ball well and are playing unselfish basketball,” said Tech head women’s basketball coach Sam Clayton. “It feels great to be able to play in the Wood Gym and we were able to come in and shoot with the confidence that we did. I was super happy to shoot it well on our home floor. Kendall naturally finds the ball and is athletic—she can do a little bit of everything and as a freshman seeing her growth and confidence is phenomenal and she’s only going to get better.”
The Huskies jumped out to an 11-0 start just over 3 minutes into the contest and didn’t look back. The Black & Gold shot 50% from the field in the opening half while making 5-for-9 from downtown to head into the halftime break with a 44-24 edge.
Wypych connected on her first three shots while Tormanen and first-year guard Ella Mason scored their first career points for Michigan Tech, hitting two free throws, apiece.
Michigan Tech was well-balanced in the second half, continuing to shoot over 50% from the field, highlighted by a 20-point fourth quarter going six-for-10 from the field, hitting two of three triples while also finding success at the foul line (six-for-nine).
“First home game is always so exciting and I felt like we did a good job channeling the energy,” Wypych added. “I thought freshmen have done a great job adjusting and they’ve come a long way and played great tonight.”
As a team, Michigan Tech recorded 11 steals and a season-high 18 assists. Nuest, Mason and Standfest recorded two steals in the second half, with Nuest finishing with a career-high five steals. Nuest also led the team with four assists, while Wypych, Lenz and Standfest and Zentkowski added three, respectively.
The Huskies lead got up to as much as 32 points in the fourth quarter thanks to a layup by freshman Kloe Zentkowski to make it 73-41. Wypych scored the final basket for MTU with 23 seconds to play, although Bemidji State would get a jumper to fall before the final buzzer sounded.
Rachel Koenig led the Beavers with 15 points, while Ella Giorgi recorded a team-high eight rebounds.
Up Next
The Huskies continue the non-conference slate Saturday, facing NSIC for Minnesota Crookston at the SDC Gymnasium slated for a 3 p.m. tipoff.
