Feb. 25, 2010

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Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State held Wayne State to just 13 points in the second half, as the Lakers played a stellar defensive game in defeating the Warriors, 60-47, on Thursday night (Feb. 25). GVSU forced 20 Warrior turnovers and owned a 19-6 edge in points off of turnovers, as the Lakers clinched a home GLIAC Quarterfinal Tournament game next Tuesday night (Mar. 2).

The victory snapped the Lakers' brief three-game losing streak, as Grand Valley State improves to 18-8 overall and 15-6 in the GLIAC. With the win, GVSU has now won three straight home games and is 10-3 at home on the season. Wayne State drops to 8-18 overall and 6-15 in league play.

Sophomore point guard Jasmine Padin started the game with a three-pointer just 13 seconds into the first half, but Wayne State scored the next eight points to take an 8-3 lead. The Lakers tied the score at 8-8, but WSU re-gained a 15-12 lead before Grand Valley State rattled off a quick 7-0 run. Freshman center Alex Stelfox sandwiched a pair of jumpers around a Padin trifecta to put the Lakers back on top, 19-15.

Back-to-back layups from freshman Briauna Taylor and sophomore Emma Veach, who then scored a layup for an old-fashioned three-point play, gave GVSU a 28-21 advantage with 3:53 to play in the half. Wayne State cut the Laker lead to 35-34 at halftime, including a long two-point jumper as the first half buzzer sounded.

Both teams shot well in the first half, as GVSU connected on 44.1 percent of its shots, while Wayne State made 45.2 percent of its field goals. The Lakers owned an 18-12 edge in points in the paint, as Stelfox scored 10 points on 5-of-8 field goals. Veach had a nice statline of nine points, four rebounds, and four assists in the first half.

The score remained closed in the early part of the second stanza, with Grand Valley State leading 44-41 with 12:30 remaining. GVSU would then take a 49-41 advantage on a free throw and layup from Taylor and a pair of freebies from Veach. With the score at 51-45, Stelfox converted a jumper and Padin knocked down her third three-pointer with 6:01 left to give the Lakers a comfortable 56-45 advantage.

Grand Valley State's defense would hold WSU to just two points in the final 8:55 of the game, as Stelfox's basket at the 3:25 mark would be the game's final points. The Warriors would shoot just 20.0 percent in the second half for a 35.3 percentage for the game. GVSU also forced 20 Wayne State turnovers, and the Lakers owned big leads in points in the paint (24-14), points off turnovers (19-6), second chance points (14-6), and bench points (17-9).

For the game, GVSU shot 38.3 percent and just 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) from three-point range. The Lakers did own a 41-35 rebounding advantage, but turned the ball over just 13 times. Stelfox led all players with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while adding five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.

Veach recorded her fourth double-double of the season and approached a triple-double with 11 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, and six assists. After missing her last game due to injury, she was very sharp in 36 minutes, turning the ball over just twice. Sophomore Kelly Kretz tallied 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting off the Laker bench, while Padin totaled nine points and four assists. Taylor added seven points and nine rebounds.

Grand Valley State will close out the GLIAC regular season on Saturday night (Feb. 27) at 6:00 p.m. when the Lakers host Northwood. GVSU defeated the Timberwolves 79-75 on Jan. 21 in Midland.