HOUGHTON, Mich. — Christmas came early for the Michigan Tech women's basketball team as Katie Zimmerman hit nothing but net on a 3-point attempt from 22 feet out with three seconds left. The bucket broke a 44-all deadlock and lifted the Huskies to a 47-44 non-conference victory at the SDC Gymnasium.

Offense was a struggle for both teams in the contest. Despite making the big shot at the end, Tech managed to make just 29.5 percent of its field goals for the game. Meanwhile, the Dragons turned the ball over 23 times against a stout Huskies' defense.

"Our defense carried us today," said head coach John Barnes. "They came in averaging 80 points a game, and to hold them to 44 was outstanding. We shot poorly, but you can overcome that when you play defense like we did."

Tech trailed, 21-20, at halftime after making just eight field goals in the first 20 minutes. Zimmerman was 0-of-5 from long range during the frame, but knocked home 3-of-4 in the second half including the clutch bomb just ahead of the final horn.

Defenses really stepped up midway through the second half as neither team scored a basket for more than three minutes. Zimmerman broke the drought with an off-balance jumper at the 8:32 mark to make the score, 37-33. MSU Moorhead answered with a 11-3 run to take a 44-40 advantage.

Zimmerman swished a 3-pointer to close the Huskies within 44-43 at the 2:40 mark. Despite good chances, neither team scored until less than a minute to go. Catherine Rottier made 1-of-2 free throws with 50 seconds left to tie the game.

The Dragon's Krista Opheim nearly put her team on top with a 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining. The shot was halfway down before rattling out. Katie Wysocky cleared the rebound, giving the Huskies the game's final shot.

"We obviously wanted to get a layup with the last shot," said Barnes. "The play was set up for Wysocky, but three defenders followed her and left Zim wide open."

Moorhead held a 39-27 advantage in rebounds and made a respectable 46 percent from the field. The Dragons hurt themselves by going 0-of-6 from 3-point range and 8-of-17 at the foul line (47 percent).

Rottier finished with game highs of 14 points and eight assists. Zimmerman added 11 points. Wysocky was held to four points (12 points below her season average), but pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and tallied three steals.

Michigan Tech, which is now 7-3 on the season, will have eight days off until its next competition. The Huskies host the Country Inn & Suites Classic at the SDC Gym on Dec. 29-30.