Jan. 3, 2008

Final Stats

Marquette, Mich. - Sophomore center Lauren Buresh hit two free throws with 23 seconds left to break a 61-61 tie and give Grand Valley State a 63-61 GLIAC road win Thursday night over Northern Michigan. GVSU, 9-4 overall and 4-0 in GLIAC action, will continue its trip through Michigan's Upper Peninsula with a 1 p.m. tilt at Michigan Tech on Saturday (Jan. 5).

The opening 20 minutes between Grand Valley State and Northern Michigan were closely contested with five ties and a lead that never surpassed five points. NMU scored the first four points, but GVSU took its first lead of the game (9-6) when freshman guard Elizabeth Van Tiflin hit a three-pointer. The Lakers built a five-point lead (21-16) when Kim Wyngaard hit a three with 7:24 left in the first half. Northern Michigan went on an 11-6 run and tied the game at 27-27 with 1:57 left in the opening stanza. Freshman forward Kara Crawford hit a pair of free throws and a layup to give the Lakers a 31-29 halftime lead.

The team traded 10 lead changes and three more ties in the opening 12 minutes of the second half before a Lauren Buresh layup at the 7:46 mark gave GVSU a 54-53 lead. Buresh added a jumper and Wyngaard hit a three-pointer to give the Lakers their largest lead of the game, 59-53. During its 7-0 scoring run, GVSU held the Wildcats scoreless for over five minutes (8:56-3:06). NMU answered with an 8-2 run to tie the game on a Kelsey Deacon three-pointer with 1:32 remaining. The tie was the ninth of the game. Buresh hauled in an offensive rebound off a Wyngaard miss and was foulded to set up the game-winning free throws with 23 seconds left. Northern Michigan missed a jumper as time expired.

Kim Wyngaard and Erin Cyplik led the way with 12 points each for the Lakers. Cyplik tied Lauren Buresh for the team lead in rebounds with five. Buresh and Nicole Carr each chipped in 11 points. The Lakers shot 54.5 percent from the floor (24-44), 50.0 percent from the three-point line (4-8) and 84.6 percent from the charity stripe (11-13). GVSU is 35-for-41 from the free throw line in its last two games. NMU was 26-for-50 from the floor (52.0 percent), but just 5-for-15 from three-point land (33.3 percent).