Nov. 30, 2009

Box Score

Big Rapids, Mich. - After trailing by 10 points in the first half at Ferris State on Monday night (Nov. 30), Grand Valley State rallied to take a halftime lead and finished the game strong with a 57-43 win over the Bulldogs. It was the GLIAC opener for the two rival schools and the victory pushes GVSU's win streak to three games, as the Lakers totaled 21 offensive rebounds.

Grand Valley State improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in league play, while Ferris State falls to 1-3 overall and an 0-1 conference record. After losing the season opener in overtime to visiting Drury, GVSU has defeated Kentucky Wesleyan, Saint Joseph's, and FSU.

The Lakers scored the first four points of the game on jumpers from freshman center Alex Stelfox and sophomore guard Emma Veach to take a 4-0 lead with 18:25 remaining, but would not score again until the 11:37 mark on a bucket from freshman Brittany Taylor. Ferris State would capitalize and take an 18-8 lead, while GVSU would go on another scoreless drought for over six minutes of play.

Trailing 21-11, sophomore point guard Jasmine Padin drained her second three-pointer in 75 seconds and an old-fashioned three-point play from junior forward Kara Crawford cut the Bulldog lead to 21-17. Freshman Briauna Taylor would answer a Ferris State layup with a three-pointer and Veach would score on a layup and a jumper to put GVSU ahead at the intermission, 24-23.

Despite shooting just 28.6 percent (10-of-35) in the first half and 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from three-point range, Grand Valley State still owned the halftime lead. Part of the reason was the rebounding battle. The Lakers piled up a 23-13 edge on the boards, including 14 offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes. GVSU turned that into 11 second-chance points, as Ferris State did not record a second-chance point.

Crawford scored the first four points of the second half on a layup and a pair of free throws and the Lakers began extending their lead. Another Padin triple midway through the half put GVSU on top, 44-34, with 9:54 left. Padin drained another trifecta nearly two minutes later to extend the Laker lead to 47-34 and the Grand Valley State defense took over.

Ferris State scored just 20 points in the second half on 33.3 percent shooting (9-of-27), including 0-of-7 from three-point range. For the game, FSU shot 3-of-16 from downtown for a 18.8 percent clip and the Bulldogs made just 38.3 percent (18-of-47) of their field goal attempts.

GVSU finished the game at 35.5 percent (22-of-62) and made just 25.0 percent (5-of-20) of its three-pointers, but the Laker defense and rebounding stole the show. Grand Valley State owned a 41-31 advantage on the boards and pulled down 21 offensive rebounds to just 11 for the Bulldogs. The Lakers also forced 20 FSU turnovers and recorded 14 steals.

Padin led all players with 18 points as she drained four three-pointers. Veach pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, while scoring nine points and dishing out five assists. Crawford played well with nine points and eight rebounds, all of which came on the offensive end of the court. Brittany Taylor added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in 14 productive minutes off the bench.

The Lakers return to Allendale for a home contest against Tiffin on Thursday (Dec. 3) at 6:00 p.m.