Feb. 28, 2009

Box Score

Midland, Mich. - In a game with major GLIAC Tournament implications, Northwood held off visiting Grand Valley State on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 28), 75-70. The teams were tied with 15-6 records in the conference entering the game and the victory puts Northwood as the #3 seed in next week's league tournament, while GVSU is the #4 seed.

The loss puts Grand Valley State at 19-8 overall, 15-7 in league play. GVSU will host fifth-seeded Ashland in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament on Tuesday night (Mar. 3) at Fieldhouse Arena. Game time has yet to be announced. Northwood improves to 21-6 and 16-6 in the conference. The Timberwolves will play at home in the opening round against sixth-seeded Ferris State.

Earlier in the season, Grand Valley State held off Northwood, 68-64, after forcing the Timberwolves into 20.6 percent shooting in the second half. NU led at the intermission 39-34 in that game and the Lakers would have to rally from another halftime deficit on Saturday.

A three-pointer from freshman guard Emma Veach made the score 6-6 at the 18:23 mark. Neither team would score for nearly four minutes with Northwood getting consecutive buckets to up the lead to 10-6. GVSU hit three straight triples from senior Kim Wyngaard, Veach, and fellow freshman Jasmine Padin to take a 15-12 advantage. Northwood would lead 24-23 with 3:50 left, but close the half on a 7-2 run to take a 31-25 lead into the break.

Padin started the second half with a three-pointer to make the score 31-28, which is the closest the Lakers would get in the final 20 minutes. After trailing by 10 points, another Padin three-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play from junior forward Lauren Buresh cut NU's lead to 43-39. The Timberwolves, however, answered with a 12-3 run and pushed their lead to 55-42.

Northwood owned a double-digit advantage for most of the rest of the game before GVSU made the score close in the final minute with eight points in the final 22 seconds, including a three-pointer from Wyngaard and five points from Padin.

For the game, Grand Valley State shot 37.3 percent from the field and made 11-of-24 triple tries. After making their only free throw attempt in the first half, the Lakers made 14-of-17 freebies in the final 20 minutes for an 83.3 percent clip. Northwood shot 45.3 percent from the floor and connected on 19-of-26 free throws.

GVSU won the rebounding battle, 39-35, while Northwood recorded 14 turnovers to the Lakers' 17 miscues. The Timberwolves led in points in the paint, 32-18, while Grand Valley State totaled a 15-11 advantage in second chance points.

Padin tied her career-high with 27 points, as she shot 9-of-16 from the floor and made 6-of-10 triples. She added seven rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes. Her 27 points are tied for the most by a Laker this season.

Wyngaard added 20 points and a team-best eight rebounds. She shot 6-of-14 from the field and knocked down 3-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. Buresh tied a career-high with 13 points and added six rebounds. She missed just one shot in the game, as she was 4-of-5 from the floor and made all five free throw attempts.

GVSU and Ashland will meet for the third time this season in the opening round of the conference tournament. On Dec. 6, the Lakers won 72-63 in Ashland and completed the season sweep on Jan. 15 in a come-from-behind 79-75 home victory.