It is pretty hard to see how the Ashland Eagles even stayed within 23 points of Michigan Tech in Ashland on Jan. 7 after Michigan Tech absolutely dominated the Eagles in Houghton on Saturday afternoon, 73-34.

After Tiffin struggled to stop the Huskies in the post on Thursday, it was obvious that the Tech offensive game plan was for more of the same against Ashland. Danae Danen and Katie Wysocky combined for the first 10 points for Michigan Tech to take an eight-point lead just five minutes into the game. Danen went down with an ankle injury mid-way through the first half, but that did not slow the Huskies down, as Lisa Staehlin and Lynn Giesler performed admirably in their added minutes. The Huskies guard play also picked up, as the Huskies knocked down four first-half three-point shots, two by Maria Kasza, and one by both Katie Zimmerman and Angela Guisfredi. The Huskies scored 37 points in the first half, shooting right on their season average of 48 percent from the floor.

The defense was the name of the game for the Huskies once again, though, as Michigan Tech held Ashland to just 16 first-half points on 20 percent shooting. “The team really did a nice job of executing the defensive game plan,” said head coach John Barnes. “We wanted to take away their transition offense, and we did a good job of slowing them down. Once they got in the halfcourt, we did a good job of clamping down on their shooters and not letting their posts get the ball.”

With a 37-16 lead at the half, Michigan Tech utilized its bench to the fullest in the second half. Remarkably, the Huskies outscored the Eagles 36-18 in the second half, with 26 Husky points coming off the bench. Barnes said, “The last two games, the bench has come in and done an outstanding job. You never know when a player is going to go down and our bench will need to step up,” referencing Danen’s injury.

The Huskies shot 46 percent in the second half, while only letting Ashland convert on 22 percent of their shot opportunities, again a similar story from the first half, but with different personnel.

Katie Wysocky still led all scorers with 17 points in only 23 minutes, but came up two rebounds shy of her 17^th double double of the season. No other Husky finished in double figures, but Sarah Stream, Maria Kasza, Lucy Dernovsek and Lynn Giesler all pitched in eight points. Angela Guisfredi and Danae Danen scored six – Danen’s ankle injury status is unknown, but Barnes mentioned that the team would err on the side of caution. All in all, 11 players scored for Michigan Tech and 10 hauled down rebounds.

From a team standpoint, the Huskies shot 48 percent for the game, including 38 percent on threes and 89 percent on free throws. Ashland shot 21 percent overall, just eight percent on threes and 82 percent from the stripe. The Husky bench outscored Ashland’s bench 39-10. The Huskies also outrebounded the Eagles 42-36, but Michigan Tech continues to surrender offensive rebounds, surrendering 13. Fortunately, because of the Eagles’ cold shooting, it only led to two second-chance points.

The Huskies basically put on a clinic in front of the 1,450 fans at the SDC gym, where they will play again next week against Ferris State and Grand Valley State on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Check out the Feb. 11 print edition of the Lode for full previews.