Feb. 14, 2007
Box Score
#15 Grand Valley State tallied a 65-42 key GLIAC North Division win over Michigan Tech on Wednesday night in Houghton, Mich. The Lakers improve to 19-5 overall and 12-3 in GLIAC play, while the Huskies fall to 17-8 overall and 11-6 in the conference. Grand Valley will return to the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena for its final regular season home contest against Hillsdale on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 6:00 p.m.
Grand Valley jumped on top of Michigan Tech early as senior guard Taushauna Churchwell and senior center Julia Braseth each hit a jumper to give the Lakers a 4-0 lead. Back-to-back three-pointers by senior guard Erika Ryskamp and junior guard Erin Cyplik put GVSU ahead, 10-2 just four minutes into the game. Junior guard Crystal Zick made a layup and Braseth knocked down another jumper to give the Lakers a 15-2 edge at the 14:14 mark.
A minute later, Churchwell hit a three-pointer and Ryskamp made a layup to give GVSU a 16-point lead (20-4). Michigan Tech scored five straight points to cut the lead to nine points, 22-13 at the 8:59 mark, but the Lakers then scored five straight points of their own to take a 27-13 lead. Grand Valley took its largest lead of the half, 17 points, on a three-pointer by Cyplik with 4:45 left. Two minutes later Cyplik added another three-pointer to give the Lakers a 35-18 edge. Michigan Tech hit the final shot of the first half with 1:07 left, but GVSU took a commanding 37-22 lead at the end of the half.
Michigan Tech came out in the second half scoring the first five points to cut the Laker lead to 37-27. Zick hit a jumper and Ryskamp knocked down two free throws to give GVSU a 14 point edge at the 15:15 mark. A Michigan Tech three-pointer cut the lead to 11, but a layup by Zick pushed it back to 13 points. The Huskies went on a 9-2 run to cut the Laker lead to just six points, 45-39, but Grand Valley quickly scored the next six points to push the lead back to 12 points. Michigan Tech cut the lead to nine points, 51-42, with 7:30 left, but did not score again in the game. The Lakers ended the game on a 14-0 run, holding the Huskies without a point in the final 7:30 of play.
Grand Valley State shot 46.0% from the field and knocked down 10-of-21 three-pointers. The Huskies shot just one free throw in the game, to the Lakers 12. GVSU forced Michigan Tech to commit 25 turnovers and scored 21 points off the miscues by the Huskies. The Lakers outscored the Huskies in the paint by a 24-10 margin.
Four Lakers scored in double figures in the victory. Junior guard Crystal Zick led GVSU with 15 points, four rebounds, four assits, and two steals. Senior center Julia Braseth recorded 13 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Erika Ryskamp added 13 points, two assits, a block, a steal, and a rebound. Junior guard Erin Cyplik posted 12 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Ryskamp knocked down three three-pointers, while Cyplik hit four. Senior guard Taushauna Churchwell tallied two three-pointer en route to nine points, two rebounds, two steals, a block, and an assist. Freshman guard Carlie Holden hit the other Laker three-pointer to score three points.
