Feb. 12, 2009

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ALLENDALE, Mich. - Emma Veach filled up the stat sheet and led Grand Valley State past Northern Michigan 62-59 in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena on Thursday night. The freshman guard recorded a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds to go with her three steals and two blocks.

Veach (Grand Haven, Mich.) shot 90 percent (9-10) from the free throw line and Grand Valley State finished the game at 88.5 percent from the charity stripe. Sophomore Elizabeth Van Tiflin (Saginaw, Mich.) tied a career-high with 11 rebounds, helping GVSU out-rebound the Wildcats by a 47-30 margin.

The Lakers (17-5, 13-4 GLIAC) struggled from the field and shot a season-low 32.7 percent, but used stifling defense and forced 15 turnovers, leading to a 19-5 edge in points off turnovers. The Wildcats (12-10, 7-10 GLIAC), who made a GLIAC-record 18 three-pointers in the last matchup between the two teams, made 11 on Thursday and shot 37.9 percent from beyond the arc.

NMU's first basket was a three-pointer by Steffani Stoeger 2:19 into the game, but GVSU freshman guard Jasmine Padin (Wyoming, Mich.) answered with a three of her own 33 seconds later. The teams continued to trade baskets through the early portions of the first half and were tied at 17-17 with 9:09 remaining in the opening stanza.

The Lakers then rattled off six consecutive points to go up 23-17 before the Wildcats answered back. After senior forward Kim Wyngaard (Kimberley, Wis.) made a three-pointer to put GVSU up 30-26 with 3:39 left in the half, NMU scored the last five points to send the teams into the locker rooms with the Wildcats up by one, 31-30.

Kelsey Deacon extended the lead to five points, 42-37, with a three-pointer 4:03 into the second half. Still down five, 47-42, Grand Valley State went on an 11-0 run, capped off by two Padin free throws with 8:32 left in the game, to go up 53-47. A Veach free throw with 3:59 remaining gave GVSU its largest lead of the day at 58-52.

NMU battled back and scored five straight points. Two free throws by Erin Powers with just less than three minutes left made it a one-point game at 58-57. Veach made two free throws to re-establish a three-point lead, but Deacon hit another jumper to keep NMU alive. GVSU forced two turnovers on consecutive possessions and two free throws by Padin iced the game with Grand Valley State ahead 62-59.

Grand Valley State has won eight consecutive home games and will look to keep that streak alive when nationally-ranked Michigan Tech travels to Allendale on Saturday, Feb. 14, for a 1 p.m. game.