Michigan Tech’s No. 1 caliber has been evident against some quality division II NCAA women’s basketball opponents, but it was that much clearer against an average division III opponent. The Huskies took it to the Finlandia Lions right away, jumping out to an early 14-3 lead, on their way to a 46-17 halftime advantage and a final score of 100-38, marking the first time that Michigan Tech has hit triple figures since 1998.

“Confidence is such a big factor in basketball, and hopefully we got a bunch of confidence from this game to go into Northern and play well,” said head coach John Barnes. “It was great to get so many of our players in the game and see what they could do, and I thought our bench did a great job.”

All 14 Huskies scored and five scored in double figures. Lindsey Lindstrom led all scorers with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and she also led the team with four assists in her 18 minutes of action. “I thought Lindsey did a great job on both offense and defense, and that was great to see,” said Barnes.

Only freshman guard Sam Hoyt got more minutes than Lindstrom, with 19 minutes. Hoyt and starting senior guard Katie Zimmerman each tallied 10 points, Lisa Staehlin scored 11 points (4-of-5 shooting) and Lynn Geisler knocked down five of six shots for 12 points. For the second straight game, Katie Wysocky did not earn a double double, but her five points and four rebounds in just 12 minutes were on par with her averages (13.6 points, 12.8 rebounds) over her typical 31 minutes per game.

One mark of a great team is adjusting to an opponent during a game. While the Huskies’ 29-point lead may not allude to the need for many adjustments, Michigan Tech’s second half was significantly better than the first. The Huskies shot 49 percent in the first half and turned the ball over seven times, whereas they shot 72 percent in the second half and only turned the ball over three times.

Michigan Tech, now 6-0 overall, will return to GLIAC play this Saturday afternoon at 5:30 against Northern Michigan. Check out this Thursday’s print edition for a full preview of the road game against the rival Wildcats.