Dec. 3, 2009

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Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State cruised to its fourth consecutive victory on Thursday night (Dec. 3) with an 86-59 win over visiting Tiffin at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The Lakers owned a 42-31 lead at halftime and shot 70.4 percent in the second half, while owning a 44-21 rebounding advantage.

The win puts the Lakers at 4-1 overall with a 2-0 GLIAC mark, while Tiffin falls to 2-2 overall with a 0-1 conference tally. Since losing the season opener in overtime to Drury, Grand Valley State has won its last four games by an average of 23.8 points per game. GVSU played well early and put the game away with a strong second half showing.

Early in the first half, the Lakers led 8-5 before going on a 12-0 run that featured a three-pointer from sophomore guard Kelly Kretz, a jumper from freshman center Alex Stelfox, and a trifecta from freshman Briauna Taylor. Tiffin rallied to cut the score to 24-14 at the 8:51 mark, but GVSU notched the next nine points to push its lead out to 33-14.

During the run, four different Lakers scored, including a three-pointer from freshman Lauren Stodola and layups from Paige Smith, Brittany Taylor, and Kara Crawford. The Dragons again battled back, cutting the score to 42-31 at intermission. Both teams shot well in the first half, as Grand Valley State connected at a 43.2 percent clip and Tiffin shot 44.0 percent from the field. The Lakers owned a 24-13 edge on the boards and got great bench production with a 21-2 advantage in the opening 20 minutes.

Tiffin got the score to single-digits in the second half at 42-33 early in the stanza before the Lakers scored 14 of the next 16 points, including three consecutive layups from Stelfox and four points from sophomore guard Emma Veach. GVSU would cruise from that point and head coach Janel Burgess was able to split up her minutes among 12 different players. 10 Lakers played at least 12 minutes and all dozen players scored at least three points.

Grand Valley State shot 70.4 percent in the second half and 54.7 percent for the game, while holding Tiffin to a 38.0 percent clip and forcing 19 Dragon turnovers. GVSU owned a 44-14 advantage in points in the paint and the Laker bench outscored Tiffin, 38-13.

Stelfox led GVSU with a team-high and career-high 20 points. She shot 9-of-11 from the field and recorded career highs in rebounds (eight) and steals (three). Veach was the only other Laker in double figures, as she scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Junior guard Elizabeth Van Tiflin tied Stelfox for the team lead in rebounds with eight. Stodola played very well off the bench with seven points, four rebounds, and four assists.

The Lakers will face Ashland on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. in a game that was moved up from a 1:00 p.m. start due to GVSU's home playoff football game at 3:30 p.m.