PREVIEW: NCAA Tournament Region Semifinal
Courtesy: Michigan Tech Athletics
Courtesy of Michigan tech Huskies
HOUGHTON, Mich. – After dominating the GLIAC Championship tournament last week, No. 6 ranked Michigan Tech (20-1) earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region tournament and awaits the winner of Ashland (14-8) and Grand Valley State (14-5) in the semifinals Saturday, March 13 at 6 p.m. The team arrived in Springfield, Missouri Wednesday afternoon and will practice at Drury University in the days leading up to the game.
During the regular season, the Huskies downed Grand Valley State (ranked No. 9 in the nation at the time) in two straight road games. Tech also beat Ashland in their only meeting in the GLIAC Championship game 74-63.
HOW TO FOLLOW: The NCAA Midwest Regional will be broadcast on Mix 93.5 WKMJ and on pasty.net. Video streaming can be found HERE. Live statistics are available by going to the basketball schedule page on michigantechhuskies.com. Drury is the pre-determined host at the O’Reilly Family Events Center in Springfield, Missouri.
GLIAC TOURNAMENT RECAP: Ellie Mackay and Jordan Ludescher scored 15 points apiece and the Huskies defeated No. 8 seed Davenport in the quarterfinals last Thursday 79-52. The Huskies assembled a 10-2 run to start the game and played a strong third quarter to extend a five-point halftime lead to win comfortably. Sara Dax played well off the bench with 12 points.
Tech outscored Saginaw Valley State 78-74 in the semifinals behind a 25-point performance by Mackay after she shot 9-for-13 overall. Baillie McGirk also made it to double-figures with 12 points and made a crucial basket to give Tech a six-point edge with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Huskies shot 56-percent.
MTU pulled away from Ashland to win the conference championship for the eighth time in program history 74-63 Sunday. The Huskies tied the program record for consecutive victories by extending their streak to 18 wins in a row. Mackay and Ludescher were named to the GLIAC all-tournament team with Mackay adding tournament most valuable player to her resume. Ludescher led the Huskies with 22 points with eight rebounds and Mackay finished with 19 points, two steals, four rebounds, and two assists. Cassidy Trotter impressed with eight steals and fellow senior McGirk scored 13 points and helped Tech maintain the advantage with free throws late in the game.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Should the Eagles make it past Grand Valley State Friday, they will seek revenge against the team which snapped their 19-game conference tournament game win streak. Ashland is 8-3 over its last 11 games and has won the NCAA Division II national championship in both 2013 and 2017. They were national runner up in 2012 and 2018 and are making their 11th DII postseason appearance overall.
Sophomore forward Annie Roshak scored 40 points in the 93-74 GLIAC Tournament semifinal victory over Parkside, hitting 17-of-22 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. It was two points shy of the school record of 42. Roshak has three 30-plus point games so far this year. Only Ashland tops Michigan Tech in free throw percentage within the GLIAC at 82.2-percent, which is also the best in all of Division II. Michigan Tech shoots 76.7-percent from the line.
SCOUTING THE LAKERS: Michigan Tech defeated Grand Valley State twice in Allendale. On February 20, the Huskies mounted an improbable comeback after Mackay hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer for a 54-52 final score. The next day, Michigan Tech’s defense held the Lakers to 44 points in a 54-44 victory. Grand Valley State split against Northwood in the final weekend of the regular season, then was upset by Wisconsin-Parkside 77-72 in the GLIAC quarterfinals.
The Lakers are 8-1 on the road and finished 28-3 in 2020-21. Juniors Emily Spitzley (12.9 PPG) and Hannah Kulas (12.3 PPG) lead the team on offense and GVSU held opponents to 56.1 points per game. Head coach Mike Williams is in his sixth season The Lakers have won at least one game in the NCAA Division II National Tournament every season since he took the helm.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Sam Hoyt was named GLIAC Coach of the Year after leading the Huskies to their 8th GLIAC Championship. In her first season at Tech (2018-19), Hoyt guided the Huskies to a 21-9 overall record and a 16-4 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Huskies claimed their 16th GLIAC North Division/Conference title and were the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. In her second season (2019-20), Hoyt guided the Huskies to their 30th consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament appearance in program history. Hoyt entered the 2020-21 season with an overall record of 32-26 and 25-15 against conference opponents.
MACKAY PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Mackay is the Huskies leader in points per game (15.1) again this season. She has been named GLIAC Player of the Week and has 14 games of 10 or more points, including a season high 31 points at Ferris State on January 30. Mackay has helped the Huskies to 17 straight victories. She made the game winning shot at the buzzer to beat No. 9 Grand Valley State on the road on February 20. Last season, Mackay was named All-GLIAC second team after earning GLIAC Freshman of the Year in 2018-19.
STARTING FIVE: Ludescher returned to make 20 starts at forward for the Huskies. A force in the paint, Ludescher averaged 13.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. Ludescher played six games as a true freshman before taking a medical redshirt last season. Her comeback this year has been a major reason for the Huskies success. She scored a career high 29 points against Wisconsin-Parkside on February 27. In the GLIAC quarterfinals, Ludescher shared the team lead with Mackay with 15 points in a win over Davenport. In the semifinals against Saginaw Valley State, Ludescher posted another 20 points.
Senior Cassidy Trotter is frequently assigned to guard the highest scoring player on opposing teams and has helped the Huskies secure the ninth ranked defense in NCAA Division II this season. In 20 games, Trotter has scored 7.8 points per game along with 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. She leads the team with 2.4 steals per outing.
Senior Baillie McGirk was named GLIAC all-defensive team and along with Trotter and Mackay held opponents to just 54 points against the Huskies all season. On offense, McGirk averages 7.6 points in 29.6 minutes per contest. She scored 12 points in a win over Saginaw Valley State in the GLIAC semifinals.
Sophomore guard Katelyn Meister played 29 games as a freshman and has started every game since January 22. This year she averages 5.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists for the Huskies