Huskies rally in second half for road win

HILLSDALE, Mich. — No. 19 Michigan Tech overcame a five-point halftime deficit to earn a 64-57 victory at Hillsdale tonight in GLIAC women’s basketball. Kelli Guy paced the Huskies with 18 points, and Morgan Anderson made the clutch plays down the stretch to keep the Black and Gold in control.

Tech (13-1, 10-1 GLIAC) turned a 32-27 deficit at the intermission into a 36-34 lead as Jillian Ritchie buried a 3-pointer. The Chargers (10-5, 6-5 GLIAC) regained the lead by making four straight free throws for a 46-42 advantage at the nine-minute mark.

The Huskies answered again with a 10-run as Anderson and Guy each had a two and a three for a 52-46 advantage with five minutes to play. The margin increased to as many as eight before HC battled back. Anderson kept it a seven-point game with a pair of running shots in the lane before back-to-back layups pulled the hosts within 60-57 with 43 seconds remaining.

Anderson then knocked down both foul shots of a one-and-one with :34 remaining for a five-point advantage. Jillian Ritchie added two free throws 12 seconds later to account for the final score.

Hillsdale held a 25-10 rebounding advantage at halftime, but Tech answered with a 21-10 edge in the second. Tech held the Chargers to 34 percent shooting while making 47 percent of their attempts.

“Rebounding was the difference in the second half,” said Tech coach Kim Cameron. “Hillsdale’s a really tough, talented team, and I thought our defense was sharp all night.

“Kelli really kept us in the game early on, then Morgan took over and made the plays down the stretch.”

Guy’s game-high 18 points came on 8-of-14 shooting. Anderson missed her first six shots in the contest but finished 4-of-10 with a timely 3-pointer in the second half and the clutch baskets late.

Ritchie totaled 12 points. Danielle Blake added 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Perhaps a bigger part of Blake’s game was her defense. She held the reigning GLIAC Player of the Year Megan Fogt scoreless in the second half.

“Dani’s defense was awesome,” added Cameron. “Not only did Fogt not score in the second half, she didn’t really touch the ball a whole lot after half.”

Michigan Tech, winner of five straight games, will travel to Saginaw Valley State on Saturday (Jan. 24) for a 1 p.m. tipoff.

(Information/Photo Courtesy of MTU Athletics)