ST. CLOUD. Minn. – Senior guard Isabella Lenz became the 31st player in program history to reach 1,000 career points following a team-leading 19-point effort, although the Michigan Tech women's basketball team fell short of victory at St. Cloud State (72-61) at Halenbeck Hall on Saturday.

Lenz shot 8-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-6 from 3-point land, also tying the team lead with six assists. Graduate Transfer Janie Tormanen (12 points) and first-year Kendall Standfest (11 points) also reached double figures as the trio garnered six rebounds, respectively. Standfest also recorded a season-high five assists.

Michigan Tech (2-3) shot 50 percent from the field as a team (27-for-54), although St. Cloud State (3-0) cashed in on 12-for-25 3-pointers paired with 8-for-11 from the charity stripe to come out with the win.

"It was a hard-fought game," Tech women's basketball head coach Sam Clayton said. "They executed better down the stretch and we gave up too many 3's to their shooters. We'll be better tomorrow. But I'm super proud of Bella for scoring her 1,000th point and leading us this game and all season.

Michigan Tech led after one-quarter of play, getting the post players involved as Tormanen and Maja Kozlowska combined for 10 points, with the sophomore guard Dani Nuest dishing out four assists in the opening frame, leading SCSU 18-15.

MTU jumped out to a seven-point lead over the Huskies from Minnesota with 2:35 to play in the first half following a 3-pointer by Lenz and another basket inside from Kozlowska. Lenz capped the scoring with a turnaround jumper to head into halftime with a 35-33 advantage. 

The Black & Gold got outscored 39-26 in the second half with a 25-point third quarter from SCSU, which included four 3-pointers, lifting the home team up by seven points heading into the final quarter of play.

Michigan Tech went 0-for-5 from long range and 0-for-2 from the charity stripe, while SCSU only produced 14 points in the final frame.

Tormanen cut the deficit down to eight points with 4:55 to play, although St. Cloud State would carry a double-digit lead 20 seconds later before the game's decision at 72-61.

Abigail O'Reilly (12 points) and Rachel Kottke (11 points) led SCSU in scoring, with O'Reilly also garnering a team-high seven rebounds.

Up Next

Michigan Tech continues its NSIC non-conference slate on Sunday at Minnesota Duluth for a 1 p.m. start.