HAMMOND, IND.  – The Purdue Northwest women's basketball team fell 58-56 to Michigan Tech Saturday in a hard-fought GLIAC contest at the Fitness & Recreation Center.

PNW dropped to 0-2 (0-2 GLIAC) on the season and will travel to Lake Superior State next week for the squad's first road trip. MTU improved to 2-0 after sweeping the opening series over the Pride.

Molly DeValkenaere produced a double-double effort with 10 points and 11 boards, while Anjel Galbraith and Danielle Nennig each scored 11 to reach double digits. Dash Shaw and Tayler Vauters chipped in with eight and seven points, respectively.



For three quarters PNW held a steady grip on a single-digit lead, firing on all cylinders in response to yesterday's loss. Nennig and Savaya Brockington opened the contest with back-to-back three's, and the Pride limited the Huskies to only two field goals in the first quarter, which ignited a 19-9 run for the Black & Gold.

Nennig outscored MTU herself with 10 points in the opening period on 4-of-5 shooting with a pair of treys.

The Pride remained out in front through the second and built a 33-26 halftime lead following back-to-back, old-fashioned three-point plays from Galbraith and Shaw.

Then, PNW closed the third on a 7-0 run capped by a Galbraith three, and the Pride opened the fourth quarter with a nine-point advantage, 49-40.

However, MTU clamped down on defense in the final stanza and capitalized on PNW's turnovers and missed opportunities on the offensive end.

Vauters put the Pride ahead by eight, 52-44, with just over seven minutes remaining, but the Huskies came storming back with a 9-0 run to claiming their first lead of the game. Alex Rondorf's free throws gave MTU a 53-32 edge with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, and PNW never regained the lead.

A layup from Shaw cut the deficit back to a point with MTU in front 57-56 with a minute to play. But in the final minute, the Pride turned it over, missed a layup, and after an MTU free throw, PNW failed to get a last-second shot off before the final buzzer sounded.

MTU's Jordan Ludescher led all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and 5-of-10 shooting at the stripe. Ellie Mackay (13) and Cassidy Trotter (10) also posted double digits in the scoring column. The Huskies shot 42 percent overall and struggled from three-point range, going just 4 for 16 from deep.

The Pride shot 40 percent overall from the field and finished 5 of 15 (33%) from beyond the arc. PNW's three treys and three assists in the first quarter were more than yesterday's game total in both categories. Free-throw shooting came back to haunt PNW after an 11 for 19 (58%) showing at the line on Saturday. The Pride also committed 19 turnovers to the Huskies' 14 giveaways.

NEXT UP
PNW will travel to Lake Superior State for a pair of games on Saturday, Jan. 16 and Sunday, Jan. 17. Both tipoff times are scheduled for 1 p.m. EST (noon CST).