March 7, 2003

Box Score

Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. - Grand Valley State overcame a four point halftime deficit and forged into the lead with a 10-0 run midway through the second half to claim a 64-58 victory over Hillsdale College in GLIAC Tournament semifinal action Friday night. Grand Valley State will face the host school, Lake Superior State, Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the GLIAC Tournament Championship game. Grand Valley State will be making its first-ever championship game appearance.

Grand Valley State and Hillsdale played a tightly contested first half with three lead changes and three ties. Hillsdale's Mary Wiesen hit her fourth three-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half to give the Chargers a 30-26 lead after 20 minutes. Hillsdale's Stephanie Heid hit a bucket at the 13:12 mark of the second half to give the Chargers a 42-37 lead, but the Lakers went on a 10-0 run over the next 5:26 to move into a 47-42 lead. Junior center Julie Zeeff reeled off five straight points to start the run, while senior guard Jennifer Nielsen added bucket, followed by sophomore guard Janine Guastella's basket and free throw at the 9:01 mark. Hillsdale pulled to within one (47-46) on a layups by Gretchen Rocco and Heid, but sophomore forward Diana Voikos hit a bucket and Nielsen hit one of two free throws to push the Laker lead back to four (50-46).

The Charges scored five straight points of their own, a layup by Heid and Wiesen's fifth three of the game, to take a 51-50 lead with 6:03 remaining in the contest. However, Nielsen quickly answered with a driving layup on the baseline and Guastella hit a jumper from the wing to give the Lakers a 54-51 lead. Hillsdale tied the game on a three-pointer by Rocco with 4:26 left in the game. After a Hillsdale 30 second timeout, Laker junior guard Cori Jewett hit her only three of the game to boost the Lakers back into a lead they would not surrender. Nielsen hit a running jumper in the lane to give the Lakers a 59-54 lead and GVSU hit three free throws in the final 30 seconds to pull out the win. Grand Valley State outscored Hillsdale 38-28 in the second half.

"I'm extremely pleased with how our team competed tonight," said first-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. "We battled hard to get the lead midway through the second half, and responded well when Hillsdale took the lead and then tied the game. We did what we needed in the closing minutes and hit some big shots down the stretch," added Plitzuweit.

Zeeff led three Lakers in double figures with 16 points and eight rebounds. Nielsen chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and five steals, while Laurie Rehmann notched 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Hillsdale was led by Caitlyn Kennedy's 21-point, 13-rebound effort. Wiesen scored 17 points for the Charges and Heid hit for 11, but converted 4-20 shots from the floor.

Grand Valley State and Lake Superior State split the two previous matchups this season, each winning on its home court. GVSU, which improved to 24-1 when holding its opponent to 70 points or less, set a single-season, school record with its 24th victory of the season Friday night.