Jan. 21, 2010

Box Score

Midland, Mich. - Trailing at halftime for just the third time this season, Grand Valley State came from behind to defeat Northwood in Midland, Mich. on Thursday night (Jan. 21) by a 79-75 score. The Lakers were 0-2 when trailing at the half, but used 10 three-pointers and a career-high 26 points from freshman Briauna Taylor to push their winning streak to six straight games.

GVSU improves to 13-3 overall with a 10-1 record in the GLIAC, while Northwood falls to 7-8 overall with a 3-8 tally in conference play. The Lakers have won all six games in 2010 and have not lost since Dec. 30 at Lake Erie. With the win, Grand Valley State is now 6-2 on the road and has won the first three games on its current four-game road trip.

The first half turned into a virtual three-point contest between the two teams, as both GVSU and Northwood shot 6-of-12 from three-point range. NU pushed out to a 7-0 lead early before the Lakers scored the next 11 points, including a pair of three-pointers from sophomore point guard Jasmine Padin and a trifecta from Taylor. The teams would battle back and forth for the rest of the half, with each team owning leads, including Northwood's nine-point advantage (38-29) with just over four minutes left.

Padin's third three-pointer of the half came with 37 seconds remaining in the half and put the Lakers down 40-37 at halftime. Both teams shot very well in the opening 20 minutes, as GVSU connected at a 45.2 percent clip (14-of-31), while Northwood made 15-of-29 shots for a 51.7 percent mark. Padin was 3-of-4 from long distance, while Taylor made both of her three-point attempts.

Just 35 seconds into the second half, Padin drained her fourth triple, knotting the score at 40-40. After Northwood took a 50-49 lead around the 16-minute mark, Taylor would take over the game for Grand Valley State. She scored on a layup to put GVSU ahead 51-50, while the Timberwolves would never re-gain the lead. One minute later, Taylor's three-pointer put the Lakers ahead 54-50 and her jumper at the 14:16 mark gave GVSU a five-point cushion.

After a jumper from Taylor at the 11:29 mark, both teams would hit a mini-drought, but Taylor would convert an old-fashioned three-point play, followed by her fourth three-pointer just 30 seconds later to put the Lakers ahead, 64-55. Over an 8:26 stretch, Taylor scored all 15 Grand Valley State points, shooting 6-of-8 from the field during the spurt.

Northwood was within three points at 66-63 with 4:09 remaining when Taylor scored on another old-fashioned three-point play, making a lay-up and the ensuing free throw. The Timberwolves would cut the Laker lead to 72-70 with 1:02 remaining in the game, but Grand Valley State made 7-of-8 free throw attempts in the final minute to close out the game and the road victory.

Taylor scored 21 of her team-high 26 points in the second half, which gave the freshman a new career-high. She shot 10-of-13 from the field and collected six rebounds in just 23 minutes of action. Taylor entered the game as the GLIAC's top three-point shooter and went 4-of-6 on Thursday to push her season total to 19-of-31 from long range for a 61.3 percentage. Her 26 points are the most by a Laker this season.

Padin played a very strong game at point guard for GVSU, totaling 18 points, six assists, three rebounds, and three steals. The sophomore made 4-of-8 field goals (including 4-of-7 three-pointers) and knocked down 6-of-8 freebies. She turned the ball over just twice in 34 minutes. Freshman center Alex Stelfox added 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, to go with a career-best four steals, three rebounds, and two blocks.

For the game, Grand Valley State shot 46.6 percent from the field and made 10-of-23 three-pointers for a 43.5 percentage. The Lakers knocked down 15-of-19 free throws. Northwood connected on 44.6 percent of its shots and made an even 50.0 percent (12-of-24) of its triple tries. Pam Wilson of the Timberwolves scored a game-high 32 points, making 11-of-21 shots and 7-of-12 three-pointers.

GVSU dished out a season-high 22 assists, with sophomore Emma Veach passing for a game-high seven assists. Veach also rejected a career-high four shots in the win, to go along with nine points and four rebounds. Junior Elizabeth Van Tiflin led GVSU with eight boards.

The Lakers close out their four-game road trip with a 1:00 p.m. contest at Wayne State on Saturday (Jan. 23).