Jan. 7, 2006

Box Score

#10 Grand Valley State jumped out to an early 8-0 and never looked back en route to an 81-55 GLIAC win over Northern Michigan in Marquette on Saturday. The Lakers improve to 12-3 overall and 5-1 in GLIAC play, the Wildcats drop to 4-7 and 1-4.

GVSU scored the first eight points of the game as junior center Julia Braseth and sophomore forward Erin Cyplik hit back-to-back three-pointers. Senior forward Niki Reams added two free throws to give the Lakers the 8-0 lead.

Northern Michigan cut the lead to three points at the 16:29 mark, but GVSU went on a 12-3 run to take a 12-point lead (20-8). Grand Valley scored 12 straight points to increase their lead to 22 points with 9:04 left in the first half. Braseth made a layup off an Erika Ryskamp assist with one second remaining to take a 45-30 lead into the locker room.

Grand Valley State shot an outstanding 57.1% from the floor in the first half, including 46.2% (6-for-13) from behind the three-point arc.

GVSU came out strong in the second half and pushed their lead to 21 points on a pair of free throws by Reams at the 13:59 mark. The Lakers scored 16 straight points to take an 80-45 lead. Northern Michigan went six minutes and 19 seconds without scoring a point during the Lakers run.

Grand Valley shot 51.7% from the field in the game, while Northern Michigan shot just 38.5%. The Lakers pulled down 14 offensive rebounds and held a 39-26 rebounding advantage. Grand Valley also scored 16 points off of 18 Wildcats turnovers.

Braseth led all scorers with 18 points, while adding six rebounds, one block, and an assist. Sophomore guard Crystal Zick tallied 13 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals, while Reams poured in 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Cyplik recorded 11 points and three rebounds. Junior guard Taushauna Churchwell scored had seven points, three rebounds, and two assists, while sophomore center Rachael Willett added six points and two rebounds.

The Lakers will return to the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena for a three-game home stint. GVSU will host Lake Superior State on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 6:00 p.m., Northern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1:00 p.m., and Gannon on Monday, Jan. 23 at 6:00 p.m. The game on Saturday, Jan. 14 against Northern Michigan will be televised live at Comcast Local.