Dec. 19, 2010

Box Score

Houghton, Mich. - In a battle of teams that were unbeaten in the GLIAC and both ranked in the top-15 nationally, #12 Michigan Tech used strong three-point shooting to knock off undefeated #9 Grand Valley State by a 60-55 count on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 19) in Houghton, Mich. Both squads were 4-0 in the conference and were a combined 16-1 entering the contest, but the Huskies pulled out the victory despite GVSU owning a large 43-26 rebounding advantage over MTU.

Grand Valley State suffers its first loss of the 2010-11 season, ending its nine-game winning streak and putting the Lakers' record at 9-1 on the year, 4-1 in the GLIAC. GVSU had defeated Northern Michigan by a 65-59 score on Saturday afternoon and were close to completing the sweep of the Upper Peninsula schools, but Michigan Tech improved to 8-1 this season and 5-0 in conference play with the five-point win. GVSU and MTU were two of the three GLIAC teams (along with Lake Superior State) to have not suffered a loss in the conference this year.

While GVSU dominated the rebounding column at 43-26 (and 17-6 offensively), the Lakers also controlled the paint (16-10) and bench points (20-3), but Michigan Tech did not need any help from inside the key. The Huskies were focused on their outside shooting and it showed, as MTU knocked down 11-of-21 three-point attempts for a 52.4 percent clip, while Grand Valley State was just 5-of-16 from long range. Michigan Tech was balanced from distance, as the Huskies connected on five triples in the first half and six trifectas in the final 20 minutes.

The Lakers led 5-4 early in the game before Michigan Tech drained three three-pointers in four possessions to take a 13-10 lead over GVSU, which stayed in the game early on seven points from sophomore forward Briauna Taylor and a triple from junior Jasmine Padin. Two free throws from sophomore Jessica Trambley and a bucket from Taylor kept the score at 15-14 at the 12:21 mark, but MTU would extend its advantage to 29-21 with 2:28 to play in the opening session.

Senior Elizabeth Van Tiflin then drained a jumper at the 2:06 mark, which was followed by a jumpshot from Taylor a minute later. Trambley connected on a layup, assisted by Taylor, just before the halftime buzzer, sending the Lakers to their locker room trailing by just two points at 29-27. Michigan Tech shot 44.4 percent from the field in the opening half, while GVSU shot just 37.0 percent from the floor, yet only trailed by a bucket after 20 minutes of play.

The Huskies slowly but surely pushed out to a 36-28 lead just three minutes into the second half, but the Lakers would stay within four points on a pair of occasions after a jumper from freshman Dani Crandall and a bucket from Padin, making the score 38-34 with 14:04 left. Grand Valley State hung around, but MTU extended its lead to double-digits at 51-41 with 7:51 to play in the game. However, the Lakers would not back down and used a pair of free throws and a layup from Trambley, plus a trifeta from Taylor to score seven unanswered points and cut the Husky lead to 51-48 with just under five minutes remaining.

A Michigan Tech three-pointer stopped the Laker run and re-established a six-point cushion (54-48) for the Huskies. MTU led 56-50 with under two minutes to play, but Taylor cut that deficit in half with another three-pointer to make the score 56-53 with 55 seconds left. On its next possession, Michigan Tech would score on a layup and take a 58-53 lead that would be too much for GVSU to overcome. A late layup by Crandall was offset by two free throws from MTU and the Huskies would hand the Lakers their first loss of the year.

For the game, Michigan Tech shot 42.6 percent from the floor, while holding Grand Valley State to a season-low 37.5 field goal percentage. GVSU committed 14 turnovers to just nine for the Huskies, but MTU owned a 17-8 edge in points off turnovers, a crucial stat in a game this close. Grand Valley State pulled down as many defensive rebounds (26) as Michigan Tech combined for on both ends of the court.

Taylor paced GVSU on the scoreboard with 18 points and eight rebounds, as she shot 7-of-14 from the field and made 3-of-5 three-point attempts. Trambley played very well off the bench, totaling 16 points on 5-of-8 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws, while adding five rebounds. The 16 points tie Trambley's career-high and she did all her damage in just 23 minutes on the court.

Van Tiflin continued her terrific rebounding efforts, as she recorded a game-high 12 rebounds, marking the fourth time in the last five games she has reached double-figures in rebounding. She leads the Lakers with 8.9 rebounds per game. Padin scored eight points to go along with two assists and a pair of steals, while sophomore center Alex Stelfox pulled down six rebounds.

It was the final game of the 2010 calendar year for Grand Valley State, who will not play again until Jan. 2, 2011. The Lakers will travel to Aquinas for a 2:00 p.m. start in their first game of the new year before returning home for three GLIAC games in six days from Jan. 6-12.