March 13, 2006
Box Score
#2 seed Grand Valley State claimed its second straight NCAA Great Lakes Region Championship Monday night as they knocked off #1-seeded Drury, 91-76, at the Weiser Gym in Springfield, Mo. The Lakers advance to the NCAA Elite Eight in Hot Springs, Ark. for the second consecutive season. GVSU will play a team to be determined on Wednesday, March 22. Grand Valley improves to a school-best 30-3 record.
Drury made the first shot of the game and the two teams battled back and forth, tying the game three times in the opening four minutes. Grand Valley then went on a 9-0 run to take a 17-8 lead at the 13:27 mark. The Panthers cut the lead to three points (19-16), but the Lakers went on a 10-0 win to push the lead to 13 points with 7:32 remaining in the first half. Drury scored five points to cut the lead to eight, but GVSU came back to score nine straight points to take a commanding, 38-21 lead with 2:35 left in the half. Grand Valley took a 42-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
GVSU took a 24 point lead just three and a half minutes into the second half as they went up 55-31. Drury went on a 12-0 run to cut GVSU's lead to 10 points (60-50) with 10:50 left. The Lakers went up by 12, but the Panthers cut the lead to five with 7:24 remaining in the game. The comeback didn't phase GVSU as they made 10 straight free throws to take a 10 point, 79-69 lead with just 2:44 left. Drury cut the lead to nine, but the Lakers ended the game making eight more free throws to seal the 91-76 win.
Grand Valley State shot 54.7% (29-for-53) from the field in the game and made 87.1% (27-for-31) of their free throws. The Lakers outrebounded the Panthers by a 43-24 margin and GVSU pulled down 13 offensive boards.
Leading the way for the Lakers, was senior forward Niki Reams who tallied 34 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Sophomore guard Crystal Zick scored a career-high 28 points, while adding five assists and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Erin Cyplik added 12 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds. Junior guard Erika Ryskamp recorded eight points, eight assists, and four rebounds, while junior Taushauna Churchwell posted four points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Erika Ryskamp and Crystal Zick were named to the NCAA Great Lakes Region All-Tournament Team, while Niki Reams earned her second straight Great Lakes Region MVP honors. Ryskamp was also named to the NCAA Great Lakes Region All-Tournament Team last season as well.
"I am extremely proud of how we battled against an outstanding team in Drury," said Plitzuweit. "We knew we had to play well for 40 minutes and getting off to a good start was extremely important."
