Feb. 9, 2008

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

Allendale, Mich. - Crystal Zick did a little bit of everything to break the Lakers out of a three-game losing streak. The senior guard finished the game with 14 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals in a 63-50 win over Northern Michigan. The Lakers are now 14-9 overall and 9-5 in conference action. They will return to the court on Thursday, Feb. 14 against Lake Superior State. The game is in Allendale with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m.

Three other Lakers scored double figures in the win. Erin Cyplik scored 12 points to go with five rebounds and three steals. Nicole Carr chipped in 11 points, four boards, three steals and two blocks and Kim Wyngaard came close to a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. The Lakers shot 48.9 percent as a team (22-45).

The first basket of the game came at the 17:43 mark when Jocelyn Ingram buried a three-pointer. A Wyngaard layup 35 seconds later gave GVSU a 5-0 advantage before the Wildcats got on the board. After an NMU long ball brought them to within two, 7-5, Lauren Buresh and Zick hit back-to-back layups to give the Lakers a six-point cushion.

The game was tied at 13-13 when the Lakers reeled off 10 consecutive points to go up 23-13. Wyngaard started off the run with five points and then a Kelsey Crowley three-pointer and a jumper by Zick finished it. The Lakers' biggest lead of the first half, 11 points, happened with just more than five minutes remaining in the half when Zick hit a jumper. Grand Valley State had an 11-point lead, 33-22 with less than a minute left in the half before the Wildcats hit the last shot of the half, sending the teams into the break with the score at 33-24.

Carr dominated the first 2:10 of the second half, scoring seven points to extend the GVSU lead to 40-24. Grand Valley grabbed its largest lead of the game, 17 points, at the 14:12 mark. Carr made a layup in the paint to make the score 43-26. The closest that the Wildcats got down the stretch was 11 points and they were never able to cut the deficit to single digits.

When the score was 51-40 with seven minutes remaining, the Lakers scored six of the next eight points, including a three by Elizabeth Van Tiflin, to reestablish control. The Wildcats' last push brought the score to 60-50 with 1:25 left, but a three-pointer by Cyplik made the score 63-50 and crushed any hope the Wildcats had of a comeback.