David Archambeau/For the Gazette Michigan Tech guard Alyssa Wypych drives around a Northern Michigan defender during a game Thursday at the SDC Gym in Houghton.Tuesday at the Houghton High School Gym.

HAMMOND, Ind. — After a split last week that saw the Michigan Tech Huskies women’s basketball team defeat their rivals, the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Thursday and then travel to Chicago only to lose to the Roosevelt Lakers for the second time this season, they head into the final weekend of the regular season with plenty to play for.

The Huskies are 11-15 overall and 8-10 in GLIAC play with two games left. They trail the Lakers by one game for sixth in the GLIAC standings, but they only lead the eighth-place Saginaw Valley State Cardinals by one game.

That could mean the difference between facing a very tough Grand Valley State Lakers squad, and either the Wildcats or Ferris State Bulldogs.

Still, beating the Wildcats holds a special meaning for coach Sam Clayton and the Huskies.

“I think that can almost make a season if you get that win,” she said. “That’s one that we really wanted. Our girls competed hard, a lot of good things from a lot of our key players. Janie (Tormanen), Alyssa (Wypych, and Bella (Lenz) really stepped up. (In) our last home game, to have the atmosphere, and the fans, and to be able to send our seniors out on a win at home, was pretty incredible.”

Both the Huskies and the Wildcats had lengthy scoring runs in the game.

“It was actually a crazy game of runs,” Clayton said. “We made a, I don’t know, 15-point run or something. They made a 12-, 17-point run, something crazy like that, where it was really extended scoring droughts for both teams at different times. But, super important in games like that, rivalry games, it does come down to that toughness piece, being able to be resilient, bounce back, and that’s kind of, I guess, what we need to do to finish the season here and make a good little run.”

The Huskies had a chance on Saturday to follow that win up with a solid effort against the Lakers, but not having Tormanen available at game time affected the game plan.

“Obviously, not having Janie Saturday was super impactful, and hurt us, but if we don’t have that post presence, we have to find different ways to get it in the paint,” said Clayton. “Maybe it’s posting up our guards, maybe it’s getting Kendall (Standfest) to the rim, off the bounce a little bit more, being creative like that, and finding different ways to get high-percentage shots.

“Driving down all day Friday, quick game Saturday at noon, turning around, coming back (it is a lot), but I don’t think that’s necessarily why. I think when you don’t know until shoot around, you’re going to have your starting post out. It changes how we were going to play. It literally changed a lot like that. So, we kind of had to adjust on the fly. We had lineups that we didn’t get to practice with, and Roosevelt had been playing really well.”

Clayton felt there was a lot to like about how the Huskies played Saturday despite ultimately falling.

“They’re a tough team to guard now,” Clayton said. “We defended well enough to win. That’s the thing. We just didn’t shoot it well enough. We actually took care of the ball. We kept them off the offensive glass.”

One player who had a very strong game offensively was Wypych, a sophomore guard. She put up a season-high 18 points to lead the Huskies.

“She’s capable, just a sophomore settling in, trying to find her role on this team,” said Clayton. “She actually posted up a lot because Janie was out on Saturday. So, maybe that’s something we need to do a little bit more with her. She’s a really strong guard, can finish well at the rim, another one that can help you space the floor, though, because she shoots it well, so well from three.”

Clayton was also quick to point out Wypych’s defensive play.

“What you haven’t seen all year, she’s been super consistent defensively for us,” Clayton said. “She’s probably been, I know statistically, Bella’s probably our best with tips and blocks, and Bella or Kendall’s our best with defensive rebounds, but Alyssa always does a phenomenal job on whoever we put her on to take away tendencies, to keep them out of the paint. So, she’s actually been doing a great job for us defensively all year.”

SCOUTING

THE PRIDE

The Huskies will battle the Purdue Northwest Pride Thursday night. The Pride are 6-20 overall and 3-15 in GLIAC play after splitting with Ferris State and Lake Superior State this past week.

Junior forward Alyssa Cole leads the Pride in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game. Senior guards Akyia Baker (9.7) and Nessa Walsh (9.3) both average over nine points a night as well.

The Huskies beat the Pride, 74-63, in Houghton on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.

SCOUTING

THE RANGERS

The Huskies will take on the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers Saturday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Rangers are 17-8 overall and 12-6 in GLIAC play after beating Lake Superior State and losing to Ferris State last week.

Sophomore guard Cassidy Arni leads the offense, averaging 14.4 points per game. Senior guard Chloe Van Zeeland (12.0) and senior guard Sheridan Flauger (10.7) also average in double figures.

GAME TIMES

The Huskies and Pride will tip off at 6 p.m. Thursday in Hammond, Indiana. Saturday, the Huskies and Rangers are set to tip at 2 p.m. in Kenosha, Wisconsin.