This story was written by MTU Athletics

WESTVILLE, Ind. – Michigan Tech women's basketball pulled away from Ashland to win the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship for the eighth time in program history 74-63 Sunday at Dworkin Center Sunday afternoon.

The Huskies (20-1) tied the program record for consecutive victories and extended their streak to 18 in a row against the Eagles. Tech also snapped Ashland's streak of 19 straight conference tournament wins.
 

Ellie Mackay and Jordan Ludescher were named to the GLIAC all-tournament team with Mackay adding tournament most valuable player to her resume.

Ludescher led the Huskies with 22 points in the Championship with eight rebounds and Mackay finished with 19 points, two steals, four rebounds, and two assists. Cassidy Trotter impressed with eight steals and fellow senior Baillie McGirk scored 13 points and helped Tech maintain the advantage with free throws late in the game. 
 

"I am so, so proud of our young ladies," said head coach Sam Hoyt. "They worked so hard all off-season. We've had some injuries to deal with and also COVID-19, so I couldn't be happier with the way we were able to win the Championship today. They definitely earned it."

Trotter made an immediate impact with three of Michigan Tech's 16 total steals in the first quarter. Neither team excelled from the 3-point arc in the first half, but the Huskies posted 18 points in the paint and 11 points off turnovers to lead 22-12 through the first quarter and 41-29 at halftime.

Ashland pushed back in the third frame and Hallie Heidemann connected for three triples in ten minutes to keep the Eagles within 10 points of a tie. Ludescher continued to be a force inside and ended 8-for-13 overall. Tech outscored the Eagles 18-17 in the fourth quarter and pulled away with free throws in the final two minutes to win.

"I thought we came out really strong initially with our defensive urgency and we kept both of their post-players under 20 points which was a big key for us," Hoyt said. "In the second half, their pressure got to us a little bit but we were able to run our offense a little bit higher and we were able to run some cuts off of that and continue to score."

The Huskies shot 41.0-percent (25-for-61) overall, including 25-percent (4-for-16) from 3-point distance. Tech narrowly out-rebounded the Eagles 35-34 and made 20 of 28 free throw attempts. McGirk finished 6 of 10 for 13 points and added five assists, five rebounds, and one steal. Trotter and Katelyn Meister tallied seven points apiece and Alex Rondorf scored four points off the bench.

Three players made it to double-figures for Ashland, including Heidenmann (15 pts), Karlee Pireu (14 pts), and Annie Roshak (13 points). The Eagles shot 46.2-percent (24-for-52) and 40.9-percent (9-for-22) from downtown. Ashland also passed in 15 assists and nabbed six steals.

Michigan Tech was the No. 1 seed in the GLIAC Tournament and downed No. 6 seed Ashland.
The NCAA Midwest Region selection show will take place Sunday at 10 p.m. EST with the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament announced one hour prior on @NCAA twitter.