Jan. 24, 2009

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State let a 21-point second-half lead slip away before prevailing in the final minutes over Wayne State on Saturday (Jan. 24) to win, 69-62. The #25 Lakers outscored the Warriors 10-2 in the final 2:08 to tally their 12th straight victory and improve to 15-2 overall and 11-1 in league play.

In the early stages of the game, Wayne State (5-12, 3-9 GLIAC) took a 12-4 lead and stretched the advantage to 23-13 with 7:29 remaining. Grand Valley State responded with a 17-2 run over the next five and a half minutes to take its first lead in the game at 30-25 with 1:58 to play in the first half.

Freshman point guard Jasmine Padin nailed a three-pointer with 29 seconds remaining in the half to give GVSU a 35-28 lead going into halftime. The Lakers shot 40.0 (10-of-25) from the field in the opening 20 minutes and went 5-of-11 from long distance. Grand Valley State was also a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line in the first frame.

The Lakers continued to push their lead in the opening minutes of the second half and held a 10-point advantage after four straight points from sophomore guard Elizabeth Van Tiflin on a layup and a pair of free throws. GVSU extended the score to 54-33, capping off a 15-0 run with a three-pointer from Van Tiflin. The 21-point cushion was the Lakers' biggest lead of the afternoon.

Wayne State started to peck away at the GVSU lead, getting the score within 10 points at the 6:37 mark and with a 57-48 Laker advantage. Less than five minutes later, the Warriors capped off their 27-5 stretch with a three-pointer from guard Brooke Bowers to re-gain the lead at 60-59 with 2:08 left to play.

Fifteen seconds later, Padin responded by draining a pair of free throws and GVSU was back on top, 61-60. The Lakers would not trail again, as junior forward Lauren Buresh and Padin would connect on two free throws apiece and freshman shooting guard Emma Veach knocked down four freebies in the final 20 seconds to preserve the tough conference victory.

Senior forward Kim Wyngaard scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the first half and added five rebounds, while making all six free throw attempts. Van Tiflin notched a career-high with 16 points and was one rebound shy of a career-best, as she pulled down nine missed caroms. She connected on 4-of-7 shots from beyond the arc and added a team-high four steals.

Padin recorded 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists. She also knocked down all six shots from the charity stripe, extending her consecutive free throw streak to 17 freebies in a row. As a team, GVSU shot 92.3 percent (24-of-26) at the free throw line and outrebounded the Warriors, 42-35. Veach was 4-of-4 at the line and totaled eight points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

Grand Valley State closed out the four-game home stand with a 4-0 record and have won seven straight contests at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The Lakers head on the road for their longest road stretch of the season with a game next Thursday (Jan. 29) at 5:30 p.m. against nationally-ranked Michigan Tech. GVSU is 5-1 away from home and has won five straight road games.