HOUGHTON, Mich. - The No. 5-ranked Michigan Tech women's basketball team held off a feisty Saginaw Valley State squad 85-73 on senior day behind 78 points from its senior class. The visiting Cardinals led during parts of the first half and stayed within single digits most of the second half before falling.

Tech, the nation's leading free throw shooting team, used that to its advantage today, making 30-of-31 attempts (97 percent) to improve to 25-2 overall and 20-2 in the GLIAC.

The first half saw both teams shoot 46 percent from the field and even better from 3-point range. SVSU made 5-of-7 triple tries and outrebounded the Huskies 18-13 to stay within 39-36 at the break.

Saginaw Valley stayed within two early in the second half until Katie Zimmerman knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and Danae Danen added six straight points in the post to give the Black and Gold a 54-45 advantage with 13:10 to play. SVSU scored seven of the next nine points to pull back within 56-52.

It was still a five-point game with three minutes to go until a 6-0 Tech run. Sarah Stream's 3-pointer with 2:45 to play made it a 78-70 score. The Huskies then stopped the Cardinals on consecutive trips and pushed the lead to 81-70 with a minute to play. The hosts closed out their school-record 25th regular season win with six straight foul shots.

"I'm excited the seniors could get the win on senior day," said head coach John Barnes. "Each of the seniors contributed in a big way to this win, something they've been doing their whole careers.

"Saginaw Valley played great. They hit some big shots, and we had a hard time guarding them."

The Cardinals (7-20 overall and 5-17 in the GLIAC) converted 7-of-13 3-pointers (54 percent) for the game and turned 12 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.

Tech really benefitted from its free throw shooting. The Huskies also cut down their turnovers with just two of their 12 for the game coming in the final 20 minutes.

Danen posted a game-high 22 points in just 28 minutes of action. Katie Wysocky turned in 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Ferris recorded a season high of 16 thanks to her making all 11 of her free throw attempts. Zimmerman added 12 points.

Stream finished with nine points and four assists with just one turnover against heavy pressure from the Cardinals.

Michigan Tech will begin its postseason Tuesday (Mar. 2). The Huskies, who have home court advantage throughout the league tournament, will host Northwood in a GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinal game at 5:30 p.m.

Notes: The Huskies' 20 GLIAC wins is a league record … Tech's six seniors-Danae Danen, Tara Ferris, Maria Kasza, Sarah Stream, Katie Wysocky and Katie Zimmerman-were honored following the game.