Feb. 13, 2010

Box Score

Houghton, Mich. - #4 Michigan Tech made 11 three-pointers on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 13) in Houghton, Mich. and held Grand Valley State to its lowest point total of the season, as the Huskies topped GVSU 68-47 in front of nearly 2,000 fans in SDC Gymnasium. The two teams met just two weeks after playing a classic double overtime game in Allendale, in which MTU was victorious 75-71.

The two top teams in the GLIAC North Division (and the conference as a whole), Grand Valley State and Michigan Tech have both been regionally ranked the past few weeks. In the most recent rankings released on Wednesday, Michigan Tech was the #2 team in the Midwest Region, while GVSU was slotted sixth. The loss on Saturday drops the Lakers to 17-6 overall with a 14-4 mark in GLIAC play, while Michigan Tech improves to 22-1 and a near flawless 17-1 in the league.

MTU is certainly beatable, as Grand Valley State nearly knocked off the Huskies in Allendale on Jan. 28 in the double overtime loss, but when Michigan Tech shoots like it did from the outside on Saturday afternoon, it becomes a more monumental task. Things were tied up early at 7-7 on five points from Alex Stelfox before the Huskies drained three trifectas during a 13-2 run to push ahead, 20-9 with 9:49 remaining. GVSU scored four straight points to cut the score to 20-13 on a three-pointer from sophomore Maddie Burnett, but six straight Michigan Tech points (including another three-pointer) opened the game back up at 26-13.

The Huskies drained their seventh three-pointer of the half (on just 12 attempts for a stellar 58.3 percentage) with 39 seconds remaining to lead 36-21 at halftime. GVSU trailed by nine points at intermission on Thursday night at Northern Michigan, but were able to come back and defeat the Wildcats, 69-66. Against Michigan Tech on Saturday, the Lakers shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the first half, including 3-of-13 from three-point range.

Back-to-back baskets from sophomore Emma Veach and junior Kara Crawford to start the second half put the score at 36-25, but the Huskies scored 15 of the next 17 points on the strength of three more three-pointers. At this point, MTU led 51-27 with 14:06 remaining. Grand Valley State could never get closer than 21 points the rest of the way, as the Huskies snapped GVSU's five-game road winning streak. The Lakers had not lost away from Allendale in 2010 and hadn't suffered a road defeat since Dec. 30 at Lake Erie.

For the game, Grand Valley State shot 35.7 percent from the field, but connected on just 4-of-22 three-pointers. Michigan Tech made 42.6 percent of its shots, but drilled 11-of-21 three-point attempts for a 52.4 percentage. The Huskies also dominated the glass, 36-27, and owned a 15-8 edge in points off of turnovers. GVSU turned the ball over just 11 times, while MTU committed 10 miscues.

The Lakers were led by Stelfox, who tallied 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Veach totaled nine points and four rebounds, while Burnett totaled a career-high nine points in 17 minutes off the Laker bench.

GVSU heads back to the Upper Peninsula next Thursday (Feb. 18) for a 5:30 p.m. contest against Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.