SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team closed out their season with a 78-63 loss to the Michigan Tech Huskies in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game on Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

First Half:

The Lakers had a strong start, holding a 19-12 lead over the Huskies after the first quarter. The Lakers scored the first six points as Margot Woughter made a jump shot and Makenzie Bray and Mattison Rayman both followed with layups. With 7:58 left in the first quarter, Woughter followed with another layup and freshman CeCe Hacker made a jumper with exactly seven minutes left on the clock to give the Lakers a 10-1 lead over the Huskies.

Lake State would hold onto the lead as the first quarter played on as Woughter made another field goal with 4:08 to play to give the Lakers a nine-point advantage (14-5). Five straight points by Michigan Tech brought the visitors within four points (14-10) and the Lakers lead would remain four with a minute left in the opening quarter. 

Carson Nitz hit a three-point shot with less than a minute left to give the Lakers a seven-point advantage heading into the second quarter. 

Within the first two minutes of the second quarter, the Huskies pulled within three points of the Lakers (21-18). Rayman's first two points of the quarter came on a layup in the first three minutes as the Lakers extended their lead to five points (23-18). However, the Huskies would overtake the lead with 4:40 left on the clock in the first half after six consecutive points to go ahead, 24-23. 

The rest of the second quarter remained evenly matched between the two U.P. teams and junior Kelly Olthof made a three-pointer with just over three minutes left to regain a one-point LSSU lead (27-26). Michigan Tech registered the final four points of the first half to hold a 30-27 lead heading into the second half. 

Second Half: 

Michigan Tech opened the second half's scoring with three straight points to lead by six (33-27) in the first two minutes. Woughter made two free throws for the Lakers to bring her team back within four points (33-29) but the Huskies offense would build their lead up to nine points by the halfway point of the third quarter (42-33). 

Bray made a layup followed by consecutive free throws to pull her team within five points (42-37) with 4:05 left in the quarter. But, the Huskies would close out the quarter strong, scoring the final six points to hold a 48-37 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of the game. 

Rayman made a layup on the first scoring play of the fourth quarter and Bray made a pair of free throws in the same minute of play to keep the Huskies lead within single digits (50-41). After the Huskies extended their lead to 13 points with 7:26 left on the clock, Bray made a three point shot for the Lakers. 

With 6:14 left in regulation, Hacker made a jumper to make it an eight point game (56-48) but the Huskies scored the next six points to extend their advantage to 14 points (62-48) with just over five minutes left to play. 

In the final minutes of the game, Michigan Tech held off the Lakers and secured the win by a final score of 78-63. 

Breaking Down the Game: Bray led the Lakers with 19 points in the game as she went 5-for-9 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Bray's two three-pointers led the Lakers in the game. Rayman ranked second among her teammates in points with 15 while leading the Lakers with 10 rebounds in the game. It marked Rayman's 13th double-double of the season. Woughter rounded out the team's top three scorers against the Huskies with eight points while leading her teammates with nine assists in the game. 

The Lakers finished the game with a 42.0 shooting percentage, going 21-for-50 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Huskies went 30-for-58 in the game to total a 51.7 shooting percentage. Lake State outrebounded Michigan Tech, 31-29, in the game. 

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