Dec. 5, 2009

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State owned a 41-24 halftime advantage over Ashland on Saturday morning (Dec. 5) at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena and shot 65.4 percent from the field in the second half to finish off the Eagles, 81-68. It was the Lakers' fifth-straight victory and they now improve to 3-0 in the GLIAC.

The win for Grand Valley State is its fourth in the last two seasons over Ashland, as the Lakers defeated AU three times in the 2008-09 season. Ashland falls to 2-3 overall with an 0-2 mark in conference play. GVSU shot the ball tremendously well in both halves, connecting at a 57.7 clip in the opening frame, including 8-of-10 on three-pointers. For the game, GVSU shot 61.5 from the field and made 9-of-15 triples tries (60.0 percent).

Ashland jumped ahead early, 7-1, in the opening few minutes before pushing the lead out to 16-12 at the 11:55 mark. GVSU tied the score at 16-16 and continued its game-changing run. Over the next 10 minutes, the Lakers put forth a 29-6 run that put GVSU on top, 41-22, with 1:59 remaining. During that span, Grand Valley State shot 5-of-5 on three-pointers, including three triples from junior guard Elizabeth Van Tiflin and a pair from sophomore point guard Jasmine Padin. The Lakers made six consecutive three-pointers in the first half.

At intermission, GVSU was on top 41-24 after holding Ashland's offense to 30.3 percent shooting and just 1-of-10 on three-pointers. The Lakers connected on 15-of-26 field goal attempts in the opening frame, torching the net at a 57.7 percent clip.

Grand Valley State pushed the lead to 24 points at 54-30 when freshman center Alex Stelfox drained a jumper at the 14:48 mark and the game looked out of reach. However, Ashland battled back over the next six minutes and cut the Laker lead to 62-52 with a 22-8 run. Moments later, Padin and junior forward Kara Crawford each scored in the paint and GVSU again had 15-point lead. Ashland would never get close than 13 points the rest of the way.

Five Lakers socred in double figures, led by Padin's 16 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. She made 3-of-4 three-point attempts. Sophomore shooting guard Emma Veach narrowly missed a triple-double by putting up a career-high 11 assists, 10 points, and seven rebounds. Veach recorded just two turnovers in her 32 minutes of play.

Crawford notched 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Stelfox collected 12 points, three boards, three assists, and two blocks. Van Tiflin finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, while making 3-of-5 three-pointers.

Grand Valley State will put its five-game win streak on the line on Tuesday (Dec. 8) against non-conference opponent, Lewis, from the Great Lakes Valley Conference.