Dec. 11, 2010

Box Score

Romeoville, Ill. - Grand Valley State trailed at halftime for just the second time all season on Saturday night (Dec. 11) at Lewis, but the #9 Lakers rallied back to outscore the home Flyers by 18 points in the second half and leave Romeoville, Ill. with a 77-62 victory. GVSU outrebounded Lewis 51-32 , received a combined 46 points from Briauna and Brittany Taylor, and used a 20-5 run to close out the contest and win its eighth straight game.

The victory puts Grand Valley State at 8-0 on the year, as the Lakers have won all eight games by an average of 19.5 points per contest. Lewis falls to 5-4 this season. Although GVSU was 0-for-11 from behind the three-point line, the Lakers made up for it with 50-22 edge in points in the paint and a 38-8 advantage in bench points. One of the top rebounding teams in the GLIAC, the Lakers dominated Lewis on the boards to a 51-32 margin, including 20-9 on the offensive end. GVSU converted those offensive boards into a 16-6 edge in second chance points.

Lewis controlled most of the first half, leading 13-8 early in the game and owning a 23-17 lead at the 8:19 mark. Sophomore Briauna Taylor then scored four straight points on a pair of free throws and a layup to close the gap to 23-21 with 7:43 left, as a jumper from Brittany Taylor tied the game at 25-25 with 6:37 remaining. Another jumper from Brittany Taylor gave the Lakers a brief two-point lead at 31-29 with 4:31 left, but Lewis would use a 7-2 run to close out the first half and take a 36-33 advantage into halftime.

GVSU bounced back and tied the score early in the second half, even extending to a five-point lead (47-42) after consecutive jumpers from sophomore Lauren Stodola and one from Briauna Taylor. The game would stay close and be tied for the 11th (and final) time at 57-57 with 6:49 remaining after a Brittany Taylor layup. Grand Valley State would score the next seven points on a layup from junior Jasmine Padin and consecutive layups from sophomore Jessica Trambley, one turning into an old-fashioned three-point play, as Trambley made the ensuing free throw.

After a Lewis three-pointer cut the lead to 64-60, Briauna Taylor and Brittany Taylor scored on back-to-back buckets to push the advantage back out to 68-60. With the game still up in the air at 70-62, Briauna Taylor scored on a pass from Trambley, made the bucket, and was fouled. When she converted the three-point play with a free throw, the Lakers led 73-62 with just under two minutes remaining. For good measure, GVSU would hold Lewis scoreless the last 3:00 minutes exactly and Trambley and senior Elizabeth Van Tiflin each added layups to finish off the 15-point win.

Both Taylors were terrific on Saturday. Brittany Taylor easily surpassed her previous career-high, as the sophomore forward totaled a game-high 25 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the floor. Her prior career-best point total was 17 against Kentucky Wesleyan last year. Taylor added eight rebounds and did all her scoring damage in just 26 minutes. Her sister, Briauna Taylor, tied her season-high with 21 points and just missed out on her third double-double, as she recorded nine rebounds. Briauna was 9-of-18 from the field and dished out three assists.

Van Tiflin scored just two points, but the senior pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds and now leads the Lakers with 8.6 rebounds per game. Her 15-rebound effort comes on the heels of 11 boards at Northwood on Thursday night, which tied her previous career-best figure. Trambley was the third Laker in double-digits, as she scored 11 points and pulled down five rebounds in 17 minutes. She was 5-of-9 from the field.

Grand Valley State shot 46.1 percent from the field and made 7-of-8 free throw attempts, while holding Lewis to 38.6 percent shooting from the floor and just 6-of-20 from three-point range. GVSU won the rebounding battle for the sixth time this season and its 51 boards are a season-high for the Lakers.

Staying on the road for game three of its current five-game road trip, Grand Valley State will head to the Upper Peninsula next weekend. The Lakers will face Northern Michigan next Saturday (Dec. 18) in a 3:00 p.m. GLIAC battle in Marquette, Mich.