Dec. 1, 2008

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Allendale, Mich. - After trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half, Grand Valley State fought back to within three points, only to fall to West Michigan rival Ferris State, 74-64, on Monday night (Dec. 1) at Fieldhouse Arena. It was the GLIAC opener for both teams, as GVSU falls to 3-2 overall, 0-1 in league play, while the Bulldogs improve to 2-2 with a 1-0 conference mark.

The Lakers scored the game's first four points on a layup and a jumper from sophomore forward Kara Crawford. FSU would score the next six points and extend the advantage to 14-11 midway through the first half. Grand Valley State would tie the score on an old-fashioned three-point play from freshman guard Emma Veach with 10:52 remaining in the opening frame.

Ferris State would hold the Lakers scoreless for the next five and a half minutes, as a three-pointer from junior Lauren Buresh would cut the Bulldog lead to 20-17 with 7:22 left. Ahead 22-20, FSU scored the next seven points for a 29-22 advantage. Ferris State extended the halftime lead to 35-25 with a 15-8 run to close the first half.

10 different Bulldogs scored in the first half, while FSU made 59.3 percent (16-of-27) of its shots. GVSU connected on just 37.0 percent (10-of-27) of its attempts in the opening stanza. Both teams turned the ball over 13 times in the first 20 minutes.

Crawford again scored the opening bucket of the half, this time a jumper with 19:29 to play to cut the Bulldog lead to 35-27. Ferris State then rattled off a quick 8-2 run to push its advantage to 43-29, its biggest lead of the game.

Grand Valley State slowly started to peck away at the lead. Veach drained a three-pointer with 16:12 left to make the score 43-34. FSU responded with five straight points, including a triple from Chelsea Simonetti to put the Lakers down by 14 points.

GVSU was down 55-45 with 9:45 remaining before sophomore Elizabeth Van Tiflin drained a trifecta to start the Laker rally. A jumper from Veach and a three-pointer from senior Kim Wyngaard cut the FSU lead to 57-54 with over seven minutes left.

Ferris State responded, pushing the score back to 62-55 before freshman point guard Jasmine Padin made a pair of free throws and Wyngaard also hit two freebies at the charity stripe. The Lakers trailed 62-59 with less than three minutes remaining before FSU forward Kelsey DeNoyelles drained a three-pointer from well beyond the arc with the shot clock running down to put Ferris State ahead, 65-69. The Lakers would get no closer than six points the rest of the way.

Veach raised her game in her conference opener by scoring a career-high 25 points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 7-of-10 at the line. She pulled down five boards, hit a pair of three-pointers, tallied three assists, and did not commit a turnover in 34 minutes on the floor. Veach has scored in double-figures in four of five games this season.

Wyngaard added nine points and four rebounds, while Van Tiflin notched eight points, six boards, and a game-high five steals. Crawford totaled eight points, three rebounds, and three assists.

Ferris State had 12 players tally at least two points, led by sophomore guard Becci Houdek, who notched 14 points and six assists. Three players scored nine points apiece for the Bulldogs.

GVSU shot 39.6 percent from the floor (21-of-53) and made seven three-pointers. The Lakers nailed 15-of-18 freebies (83.3 percent) and forced 20 Bulldog turnovers. Ferris State narrowly won the rebounding battle, 30-29.

Next up for Grand Valley State is a road contest at Tiffin on Thursday (Dec. 4) at 6:00 p.m. It is just the second meeting all-time between the teams, as GVSU holds a 1-0 lead in the series.