Dec. 15, 2007

Final Stats

Allendale, Mich. - A furious second-half rally by Grand Valley State fell short on Saturday, as the Lakers fell to the University of Missouri-St. Louis by a final score of 53-50. GVSU had won six straight games coming into the contest and their record is now 6-3 (3-0). Erin Cyplik led Grand Valley with 12 points and 11 rebounds. GVSU takes to the road for their next games, which come in the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout on Dec. l9 and 20 against St. Edward's and either Belmont Abbey or Valdosta State.

Grand Valley struggled out of the gate, shooting just 18.5 percent in the first half. The Lakers were also 0-5 from long range in the first half and 5-27 overall. The Tritons, conversely, shot 44 percent from the field and were 6-15 from beyond the arc. Courtney Watts and Kristi White both hit three-pointers to start the game for UMSL and give their team a 6-1 lead just 1:14 into the contest. A free throw from Kim Wyngaard gave the Lakers their first point, but their first field goal did not come until the 16:24 mark, when Wyngaard put in a layup.

White hit another three for the Tritons, who held a 10-point lead, 13-3, with just less than 14 minutes remaining in the game. A layup by Elizabeth Van Tiflin with 13:04 left gave Grand Valley five points and that total went to six when Wyngaard buried a free throw with 8:47 left in the first half. The Lakers trailed 17-6 when Wyngaard hit the free throw and trailed 30-8 when Crystal Zick hit a jumper 5:46 later. Zick converted a three-point play and scored four points in the last two and half minutes, but the Lakers trailed 32-15 at the half.

The second half started slowly, with neither team touching the scoreboard until Nicole Carr hit a free throw at the 17:06 mark. Carr hit a layup to follow that play up, and the Lakers ended up scoring the first six points of the half to make the score 32-21. Grand Valley cut the margin to single digits when Cyplik buried a three with 12:57 left to make the score 35-26. Van Tiflin hit three free throws and Lauren Buresh added two of her own to make it a four-point game with 10 minutes remaining, 35-31.

The lead went down to three at the seven minute mark, when Wyngaard made another two free throws. The Tritons quickly stretched it back out to an eight-point lead after a three from Lindsey Ransome and free throws by Amanda Miller, but the Lakers refused to go away. Cyplik hit another two long balls to bring Grand Valley to within one, 49-48, with just 2:02 left in the contest. Grand Valley took its first and only lead of the game with 24 seconds left when Jocelyn Ingram drove into the lane and made a jumper to make the score 50-49. Miller closed the game out by making a layup with 10 seconds left, and two free throws by Watts with one second left made the final score 53-50.

The Lakers outscored the Tritons 35-21 in the second half, and were led on the day by Cyplik's 12 points and 11 rebounds. Ingram chipped in nine points, Wyngaard had eight and Zick added seven before leaving the game with an injury.