Feb. 18, 2010

Box Score

Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. - Grand Valley State dropped a tough road contest at Lake Superior State on Thursday night (Feb. 18) in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., falling to LSSU by a 69-62 score. GVSU owned a strong 27-3 edge in bench points, but Lake Superior State made 19-of-24 free throws and forced 23 turnovers in a back-and-forth game in which the lead changed hands seven times.

The loss drops Grand Valley State to 17-7 overall with a 14-5 record in GLIAC play, while Lake Superior State improves to 13-10 on the year with a 10-9 league record. GVSU was ranked sixth in the latest Midwest Regional rankings released on Wednesday, but dropped back-to-back road games for the second time this year. Grand Valley State fell at #4 Michigan Tech on Saturday afternoon and is now 8-4 in road games this season.

Things did not start out well for the visitors, as Lake Superior State jumped out to a 10-2 lead just four minutes into the game. GVSU reponded with a three-pointer from point guard Jasmine Padin and a jumper from sophomore guard Kelly Kretz. Freshman forward Brittany Taylor recorded consecutive layups and a jumper from center Alex Stelfox put Grand Valley State ahead, 13-12.

Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the half, as LSSU owned a 32-27 advantage with 2:20 left. Sophomore Maddie Burnett hit a jumper at the 2:04 mark and Stelfox scored the final points of the half on a jumpshot with 47 seconds remaining to put GVSU down at the half, 32-31.

Grand Valley State shot 48.3 percent from the field in the first half and owned a 21-16 rebounding advantage over Lake Superior State, which shot 40.0 from the field and just 3-of-11 from three-point range. However, GVSU turned the ball over 11 times in the opening frame. Of Grand Valley State's 31 first half points, 20 came from the bench, as LSSU did not have a point scored by its reserves.

Another Stelfox jumper started the second half and put GVSU back on top, 33-32, but Lake Superior State scored the next seven points and took a 39-33 lead. A three-point from junior Elizabeth Van Tiflin and two free throws from Padin brough Grand Valley State within a point at 41-40. It was as close as GVSU would get the rest of the game, as Lake Superior State would push the score out to 46-40 with 12:47 remaining.

Padin's old-fashioned three-point play cut the lead to 46-43, but LSSU would not budge and extended the advantage back to 61-53 with 2:46 left in the game. Grand Valley State got within five points at 63-58, but Lake Superior State made 6-of-8 free throws in the final 49 seconds to close out the victory.

GVSU shot much better from the field, connecting at a 48.1 percent clip, while LSSU made 39.3 percent of its shots. Neither team shot well from behind the arc, as Grand Valley State made 3-of-14 attempts (21.4 percent) and Lake Superior State shot 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from long distance. LSSU won the game on the strength of forcing 23 GVSU turnovers and turning that into a 25-12 edge in points off turnovers. Also, Lake Superior State made 19-of-24 free throws, while Grand Valley State was 9-of-11 from the line.

Stelfox led GVSU with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor. She added three rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Briauna Taylor totaled 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds, while Padin notched 10 points and eight assists. Brittany Taylor also added nine points and four rebounds off the GVSU bench, which owned a 27-3 edge over Lake Superior State. Grand Valley State also totaled a 34-20 advantage in points in the paint.

GVSU concludes the four-game road trip with a 5:00 p.m. contest at Saginaw Valley State on Saturday night (Feb. 20) in University Center, Mich.