Jan. 16, 2010

Box Score

Tiffin, Ohio - Grand Valley State improved to 12-1 when leading at halftime, as the Lakers shot very well on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16) against Tiffin, defeating the Dragons, 75-66. A six-point halftime advantage held up for GVSU, which shot 51.9 percent from the field and made 16-of-17 free throw attempts in winning its fifth straight game.

The Lakers are undefeated in 2010, having won all five conference games played in the new year, all coming in the last nine days. Grand Valley State is now 12-3 overall with a 9-1 GLIAC record, while Tiffin falls to 5-10 on the season with a 2-8 league mark. After losing a pair of road games in late-December, GVSU improves to 5-2 away from Allendale this season and won both road contests so far on its four-game road trip.

A back-and-forth first half saw six ties and three lead changes. After trailing early, 7-6, sophomore guard Emma Veach drained a pair of free throws and classmate Kelly Kretz knocked down a three-pointer to put the Lakers, ahead 11-7. Tiffin then rattled off eight straight points to push forward 15-11 for its biggest lead of the game. GVSU would use consecutive jumpers from freshmen Brittany Taylor and Alex Stelfox to tie the score at 18-18.

Nearing halftime, the Lakers put a little cushion between themselves and Tiffin, scoring seven of the final eight points of the half. A jumper from Briauna Taylor, a three-pointer from junior Kara Crawford, and a bucket from freshman Lauren Stodola gave GVSU a 34-28 advantage at intermission. The Lakers shot 44.8 percent in the first half, while owning a 21-13 edge on the glass. Tiffin knocked down just 39.3 percent of its shots and only 3-of-12 from three-point range.

GVSU started strong in the second half with jumpers from Stelfox and Veach in the first 33 seconds to push out to a double-digit advantage at 38-28. The Dragons would contine to hang around even though Veach scored on back-to-back jumpers to put Grand Valley State ahead, 44-32, with 15:03 remaining. Tiffin responded with an 11-2 run that cut the Laker advantage to just three points at 46-43 around the 11-minute mark.

Tiffin would not get within two points the rest of the way, but stayed right along with GVSU until late in the contest. Grand Valley State led 65-61 when a Veach jumper with 1:44 left was followed by four big free throws from sophomore point guard Jasmine Padin to put the Lakers ahead comfortably, 71-61, with just 32 seconds remaining. For good measure, Briauna Taylor and Padin would add two more free throws apiece for the final margin, giving the Lakers their fifth road victory.

Shooting the lights out in the second half, GVSU shot 60.9 percent in the final 20 minutes and made 11-of-12 attempts at the charity stripe. For the game, the Lakers shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 94.1 percent at the line. Grand Valley State's defense held Tiffin to 42.4 percent shooting and just 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from three-point range.

Veach led GVSU with a team-high 20 points, including 15 second-half points. She shot 8-of-14 from the field, while totaling six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Her backcourt partner, Padin, added 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Stelfox scored 10 of her 14 points in the first half, as she shot 6-of-9 from the floor. She added three boards and two steals. Briauna Taylor paced the Lakers with a team-high and career-high seven rebounds, to go along with nine points and two steals. Kretz played well off the bench with five points, five boards, two assists, and two steals.

Grand Valley State will stay on the road, as the Lakers will face Northwood next Thursday night (Jan. 21) at 6:00 p.m. in Midland.