HOUGHTON, MICH. – The winter storm that dropped two feet of snow on the Upper Peninsula the past three days was nothing like the blizzard the fifth-seeded Lake Erie College women's basketball team ran into Wednesday night (Feb. 29) inside in the form of fourth-seeded Michigan Technological University in the opening round of the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament.  The host Huskies shot 58 percent from the floor, including 10 three-pointers, en route to a convincing 82-52 win at the Student Development Complex Gymnasium in Houghton.

The loss was the fifth straight to end the season for Lake Erie, which concludes the campaign with a 16-11 overall mark.  Michigan Tech, which won its fourth straight and sixth in the last seven games, improves to 20-6 and advances to the GLIAC Tournament semifinals this weekend.

The Storm (16-11) scored the game's first basket, but after that it was all Michigan Tech.  The Huskies went on a 32-6 run midway through the first half and never looked back.  They shot 16-of-24 (66.7%) in the first 20 minutes and led by 28, 49-21, at halftime.

The hot hand continued into the second half and the Huskies built the lead up to 40.  The Storm got it down to 28 on a couple of occasions, but that was as close as the contest would get in the second half.

Senior center Stephanie Rogers (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) led the Storm with 13 points and five rebounds while classmate Jen Caiola (South Russell, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) added 12 points.  They were the only two players in double figures for Lake Erie, which shot just 28% (16-of-58).

Michigan Tech had four players in double figures with Taylor Stippel leading the way with a game-high 18 off the bench to go along with nine rebounds.  Sam Hoyt, Katie Glodowski and Krista Kasuboski each scored 12 points. The Huskies were 28-of-48 from the floor, including 10-of-15 (67%) from beyond the arc.  They also outrebounded the Storm 47-22 and had 22 assists on their 28 made baskets.

The Huskies will play the winner of Ashland University and Northern Michigan University Saturday, March 3, at a site to be announced.

-LEC-