David Archambeau/For the Gazette Michigan Tech guard Kaitlyn Maxwell attempts a layup during a game against Concordia-St. Paul during a game Saturday at the SDC Gym.

By DAVER KARNOSKY

dkarnosky@mininggazette.com

HOUGHTON — Despite a near double-double from junior forward Maja Kozlowska, and leading for over 37 minutes of a 40-minute contest, the Michigan Tech Huskies women’s basketball team ultimately fell to the No. 21 Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears, 63-60, Saturday afternoon at the SDC Gym.

A 26-point fourth quarter was what the Golden Bears used to earn the win.

“We competed hard,” said Huskies coach Sam Clayton. “It shows we’re right there with some of the top teams, Concordia being No. 21 in the nation right now, and (with us being) up most of the game. I really thought their fourth quarter pressure got to us. We had too many turnovers, ended up with 18. So, if we’re able to just take care of it a little better, and get some better shots, I also think we missed a lot of shots that we have to make. We got the right looks, so it’s getting all these players all this experience. So many freshmen and sophomores getting so many minutes where it’s good. We’re learning from it. We have to turn that corner where, OK, we have learned from it. Now, let’s execute that in our late game.”

The Huskies (2-5 overall) led by 12 after 10 minutes, and led by 11 in the third quarter, but neither of those leads held up in the end.

“I think that does make it a bit more frustrating when you are up most of the game, right until the fourth, that’s hard,” said Clayton. “But, I think it shows that it comes down to you have to put four quarters together, you have to be able to take care of the ball late game, when you know they’re going to be pressuring because you’re up, and then being able to execute late game, get the stops, and the box outs.

“A lot of things to learn, and hopefully it does make our players mad. Hopefully they get pissed off about this. Where you’re up on one of the best teams in the nation right now, and should have got them at home, they can just use that as a fire for the rest of the season.”

Kozlowska, who was playing in just her third game of the season, broke through in a big way in the third quarter, where she put up eight of her team-high 14 points. She made three layups and then hit a jumper in the final 24 seconds of the quarter.

“I like that she’s just a physical post presence,” Clayton said. “She gives us a presence defensively that is hard to replicate. She’s so long, and pretty mobile, where she can affect shots at the rim.

“They shot 33% from the floor. I mean, we should be able to win that game. That’s pretty good. Holding this team, a really good team, to 63, that’s a winnable game if we finish our layups. So, she just does a lot that way. Also rebounding, she has mobility to rebound outside of her area. So, yeah, (she) brings a lot to the table that we needed.”

Kozlowska, senior forward Emma Anderson, and fifth-year guard Kaitlyn Maxwell have all returned to the Huskies’ lineup, and all three played roles in the contest.

“I keep saying we’re going to get healthy, and get all our players back, and we get one back and another goes down. It’s just been that type of a season so far,” said Clayton. “But, it’s great to have Maja back. It’s great to now be able to get Kaitlyn some minutes here, more significant minutes.

“Maybe she didn’t score a ton, but she did a lot of really good things for us, especially defensively and communicating. She’s a great shooter. She’ll end up being one of those scorers that’s consistently in double digits. I truly believe that. But, the more we get, the better, because I think we do have a ton of depth. It’s just getting all of that healthy.”

The Huskies did what they could early and often, jumping out to an 18-6 lead after 10 minutes, thanks to seven points from freshman guard Kendall Standfest. From there, though, Standfest was shut down until late in the game when she finally got a layup with just 8.6 seconds remaining.

The Huskies led in the game until the final 2:32, when Lydia Haacok, who led all scorers with 19 points, hit a 3-pointer to put the Golden Bears up 55-53. Standfest had a golden opportunity to get that triple back with a wide-open look of her own seconds later from the left corner, but her shot missed, and from there, the Huskies could not even things.