Michigan Tech guard Isabella Lenz drives around an Ashland defender during a game last season at the SDC Gym in Houghton. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — The Michigan Tech Huskies women’s basketball team earned a split to open their season during the Justagame D2 Midwest Region Tip-off. The Huskies lost their opener to Lewis on Friday, 68-57, but won Saturday over Thomas More, 73-59.

HUSKIES TOP THOMAS MORE

The Huskies earned its first win of the season, backed by 54 points by the starting five to handle Thomas More, 73-59, at the Justagame Fieldhouse in the Wisconsin Dells on Saturday.

Michigan Tech wraps the D2 Midwest Region Tip-Off with a 1-1 record, while Thomas More falls to 0-2 to start the year.

In total, the Black and Gold saw four starters in double-figure, scoring led by sophomore guard Alyssa Wypych with a new career-high 21 points. Senior guard Isabella Lenz scored 15, while sophomore Dani Nuest recorded a new career-high 13 points and three assists.

Freshman Kendall Standfest scored 12 points for the second-straight game but added a team-leading 10 rebounds to mark her first double-double in her second career game for the Black and Gold.

“I’m so proud of our team. Thomas More executes well so it was a good win for us,” said Huskies coach Sam Clayton. “Alyssa had a huge game for us with her offensive efficiency. But I also think Dani did a great job taking care of the ball for us and attacking their pressure. Kendall controlled the boards for us and hit big shots. It was a great weekend for us to learn and get better.”

Michigan Tech led from wire-to-wire and had a 10-point lead nearly halfway through the first quarter thanks to a jumper by Nuest. Wypych scored a layup and a 3-pointer to close the quarter leading 19-9. Thomas More struggled early with six turnovers in the opening period.

The Huskies hit four triples in the second quarter to outpace the Saints 20-14, with Wypych accounting for two 3-pointers. Nuest was productive down the stretch, connecting on two layups in the final 90 seconds of the half, completing the old-fashioned three-point play on her first make, helping MTU hold a 39-23 lead entering halftime.

After not connecting from long range in the first half, Thomas More began to find the triple with two 3-pointers in each quarter during the second half-outscoring the Huskies by one point in both quarters, although the first-half lead would be too much for the Saints to recover from.

Isabella Lenz scored five unanswered points to conclude the third quarter with a 3-pointer and a jumper in the paint with under 1:04 to play to push the Black and Gold’s lead back to 15 points with 10 minutes to play.

The Huskies starters did not relent in the final frame, scoring all 18 of Tech’s points, shooting 53.7 percent from the field on seven-of-13. Lenz recorded seven points down the stretch with an and-one with 5:10 to play, marking the largest lead of the game at 64-47. Wypych put the game away on a layup with 31 seconds to play, with the final buzzer seeing Michigan Tech win 73-59.

Laney Baker was the Saints’ leading scorer off the bench for 12 points, while Rylee Turner posted a team-high seven rebounds.

LENZ TIES CAREER HIGH IN OPENER

Lenz tied her career-high with 23 points in the season opener, falling to Lewis, 68-57 at the Justagame Fieldhouse on Friday afternoon.

“I was really proud of the way we competed! We’re going through an insane amount of adversity with our team right now, but we never backed down and kept making runs,” said Clayton. “Bella really stepped up and led us today on both sides of the ball. I also thought Kendall played really well and was aggressive for us offensively. If we can just shore up a few execution things, we’ll be just fine. Great opportunity to learn from it and respond tomorrow.”

Lewis (1-0) jumped out to a 5-0 start and maintained the lead for the rest of the game. Michigan Tech cut the lead to a possession following a triple by sophomore Alyssa Wypych with 3:52 to go, although the Flyers ended the period on a 10-3 run (21-12).

The Black and Gold showcased two true freshmen in the starting lineup in Standfest and Kloe Zentkowski. Nuest also earned her first career start in the season opener.

Michigan Tech cut into the Flyers’ lead, making it a three-point game three times in the second quarter as Lenz and Standfest combined for 13 of the team’s 18 points in the stanza.

The Huskies played better in the second half, holding Lewis to 29 points while scoring 27. After opening the third quarter down by 11, the Black and Gold got back-to-back steals from Lenz, translating into a fastbreak jumper and a triple by Nuest. Lenz then rattled off three more jumpers and a layup at the 2:28 mark to make it a one-point game, although the Flyers continued to hold a lead, ballooning back up to seven points by the end of the quarter.

Lewis used the seven-point cushion to its advantage and outscored the Huskies by four points in the final frame to claim the 68-57 decision.

Standfest joined Lenz in double-figure scoring with 12 points and a team-leading eight rebounds in 31 minutes. Lenz, who logged a game-high 38 minutes also recorded two assists, two blocks and three steals. Zentkowski had a notable seven game rebound in her first outing for the Black and Gold.

Taylor Gugliuzza (17 points) and Yahaira Bueno (13 points) combined for 30 points as the lone players in double-digit scoring for LU. Gabrielle Hoover and Ally Cesarini each recorded a team-leading seven rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Huskies continue the non-conference slate next week, welcoming NSIC foes Bemidji State and Minnesota-Crookston to the SDC Gym. Michigan Tech plays the Beavers Friday at 5 p.m. and the Golden Eagles on Saturday at 3 p.m.