David Archambeau/For the Gazette Michigan Tech guard Kendall Standfest drives to the basket during a game against Wayne State on Saturday, Jan. 18, SDC Gym in Houghton.

HOUGHTON — Through the first 10 games of the GLIAC schedule, the Michigan Tech Huskies women’s basketball team is .500 with a record of 5-5, thanks to a split last week with Lake Superior State and Ferris State. They topped the Lakers on Thursday, 101-52, before falling to the Bulldogs Saturday, 75-49.

The Huskies are now 8-10 on the season.

“Obviously, Thursday’s win was great,” said Huskies coach Sam Clayton. “Everyone played well, everyone contributed, and came out with great urgency. Then Saturday, a different game.

“Ferris is a really good team. They have really good athletes, and they came out with a ton of fire, flying around defensively, and I really think it caught us off guard. Then, offensively, we were a bit hesitant, I think, especially in the second half, after a few missed shots, a few turnovers where we weren’t getting the looks we normally do.”

Clayton pointed out how the Bulldogs’ game plan proved effective throughout the contest.

“They were really taking away our post players fronting in the post, and making it difficult to get in there,” said Clayton. “Then just, kind of, everyone got hesitant. Even when we got it inside, we weren’t looking to score 1-on-1 off of our skip passes.

“When I thought we could have had advantages, we weren’t looking to score. So, yeah, that mindset in the second half was not the aggressive, confident mindset that we needed to beat a team like that.”

For Clayton, the loss to Ferris State reminded her of a number of earlier losses this season, where the Huskies would look confident for a portion of the game, and then, once the ball stopped going in, the team struggled to get back into any kind of rhythm.

“We’ll learn from it,” she said. “We need to, right? We’re heading into the second half of conference. There’s no time left. There’s no time left. So, it can’t be, ‘Oh, we’re young. Oh, we’re learning.’ We have to do it now. We have to do it.

“I think we have all the right players in the locker room. We do have the right mindset moving forward, and I do believe with this team, the leaders that we have, players like Bella (Lenz), Janie (Tormanen), Alyssa (Wypych). We will turn it around, and, moving forward, be able to stop those runs a little bit quicker and play more confidently.”

In the win on Thursday, the Huskies had six players in double figures, including two who came in off the bench, senior forward Emma Anderson, who had 10 points, and freshman guard Ella Mason, who scored 15.

The Negaunee native set a new career high in the game by going 7-of-9 from the field and hitting one 3-pointer.

“It was great to see multiple players putting those numbers, but, yeah, specifically for Ella, she had a great week of practice, so I knew she was going to have some good games,” Clayton said. “She’s a player that can just score the ball. Everyone in the U.P., I think, saw that when she was in high school. She can shoot it. She’s got a tough pull up. She was able to get to the rim. She had a really nice finish in transition and our bench exploded.

“So< it was great to see that for her to be able to get some confidence, because, honestly, we need to be able to go deeper into our bench. So she's playing well."

Mason became a focal point in practice prior to Thursday. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she is from about 100 miles away from Houghton.

“I think being from the U.P., playing at Michigan Tech, there’s a pride in that,” said Clayton. “I know she’s super grateful to be here. Our core value last week was appreciation, (which) we were focusing on. Our players vote on it, and they voted for her.

“She always plays hard. She’s always happy to be on the floor and just compete. I think it does mean a ton when she can have family at games up here and just represent Michigan Tech.”

Mason’s growth, along with classmate Kendall Standfest, are two reasons that Clayton has for why she believes the Huskies are better than their record shows to this point in the season.

“I’m proud of this year,” she said. “I know the record isn’t great, it’s not necessarily what we hoped for heading into the season, but I truly believe with everything we went through up through October, November, for us to be able to be where we’re at now, where we’re still in a position where we can be competing with the top teams in the GLIAC, we’re starting to play our best basketball. Saturday wasn’t great, but we are starting to play our best basketball, and now’s the time to do that heading into February and March. So, actually, (I’m) really proud of this team and we are coming together and that’s a huge key too.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

The Davenport Panthers come to Houghton 4-14 overall and 2-8 in GLIAC play after splitting last week with Purdue Northwest and Wisconsin-Parkside. Surprisingly, the Panthers lost to the Pride, but bounced back with a win over the Rangers.

The Huskies beat the Panthers on Saturday, Jan. 4, 68-60.

Junior forward Ellie Toney leads the Panthers in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game. They also recently got junior guard Deyonce Thompson back from injury, and she is averaging 10.0 points per game.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

The No. 1-ranked Grand Valley State Lakers come into the weekend as the top team in the GLIAC at 20-1 overall and 10-0 in conference play. Their lone loss came in a game against Ohio State.

The Lakers defeated the Huskies earlier this season 93-52 in a game that featured over an hour of a delay due to a power failure on campus.

Senior forward Rylie Bisballe leads the Lakers in scoring with 12.8 points per game. In fact, she is the only Lakers player who averages in double figures. She was named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Senior guard Abrie Cabana is also having a nice season, averaging 9.0 points per game.

GAME TIMES

The Huskies and Panthers will tip off Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the SDC Gym in Houghton. Saturday, the Huskies and Lakers are set for a 12 p.m. start.