Feb. 27, 2010

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - Northwood bounced back after trailing by 13 points in the second half to pull off a 64-63 victory over Grand Valley State on Saturday night (Feb. 27). The Lakers had a final shot at the buzzer, but Jasmine Padin's three-pointer rattled out, giving Northwood the road win over GVSU.

The loss puts Grand Valley State at 18-9 on the year with a 15-7 record in the GLIAC, while Northwood improves to 13-13 overall and 9-13 in conference play. GVSU's loss did not hurt the Lakers in terms of seeding for the GLIAC Tournament, as Northern Michigan's victory earlier in the day over Lake Superior State meant that Grand Valley State had clinched the #3 seed. The Lakers will take on #6 LSSU on Tuesday night (Mar. 2) in Fieldhouse Arena at 6:00 p.m.

On Saturday night, the game was tied six times in the first 10-plus minutes, as the teams were tied 18-18 with 9:50 remaining. GVSU then scored eight straight points, including a three-pointer from Padin, a jumper from sophomore Emma Veach and a bucket from freshman Brittany Taylor. Northwood cut the score to 26-22 before the Lakers tallied the next eight points. Freshman Paige Smith rebounded a missed shot and then scored on a layup with 5:17 left.

Junior Kara Crawford drained a three-pointer from the top of the key and classmate Elizabeth Van Tiflin put in a layup to up the lead to 34-22 with just over three minutes remaining. Van Tiflin's three-pointer less than a minute later made the score 37-24 for the Lakers' largest lead of the first half. GVSU would go into halftime with a 37-27 advantage.

The Lakers shot a sparkling 55.6 percent from the field in the opening half and made 4-of-9 three-pointers. Northwood shot just 37.0 percent from the field and was only 1-of-7 from three-point range. Grand Valley State owned an 11-5 edge in bench points, while both teams tallied 16 points in the paint.

Senior Jocelyn Ingram started her first game of the season on Senior Day and drained a three-pointer for the first points of the second half. In the opening minutes of the half, GVSU again led by 13 points on two occasions, but Northwood began to chip away at the Laker lead. A fastbreak layup from sophomore Kelly Kretz at the 14:21 mark put the lead at 44-33, but NU put together a 10-2 run to cut the score to 46-43.

GVSU owned a slim lead until the 7:09 mark, when Northwood's Pam Wilson hit a fadeaway jumper to put the Timberwolves ahead, 56-55. Padin immediately responded with a three-pointer 20 seconds later to put the Lakers back on top, 58-56. Grand Valley State led 63-58 with 4:02 remaining after a layup from freshman center Alex Stelfox. However, the Lakers would not score again in the final four minutes.

Northwood drained a three-pointer at the 2:28 mark to make the score 63-62 and received a pair of free throws from Monica McCallister to take a 64-63 advantage. The GVSU defense got a great stop with under 10 seconds remaining, as Veach stole the ball from Wilson. After a Laker timeout with two seconds left, Padin shook free and had a good look at a three-pointer that would win the game, but her shot rimmed out, giving Northwood quite a comeback win.

Both teams shot nearly even, as GVSU connected on 45.5 percent of its shots, while Northwood made 43.4 percent of its field goal attempts. The teams struggled from beyond the arc, as the Lakers were 7-of-20 (35.0 percent) from long range and NU made just 4-of-14 attempts. Each team had 30 points in the paint, while the Timberwolves owned a 16-10 edge in points off turnovers. GVSU had a 19-7 advantage in bench points.

Stelfox led the Lakers in scoring for the 10th time this season (and sixth straight game) by totaling 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Padin tallied 10 points and seven assists, while Veach added eight points, six assists, and a pair of steals. Ingram notched six points, an assist, and a steal in nine minutes, while Crawford recorded five points and six boards.

GVSU will host Lake Superior State in the opening round game of the GLIAC Tournament on Tuesday (Mar. 2), as the teams have split the two meetings this season. On Jan. 9 in Allendale, the Lakers won 73-49, but LSSU recorded a 69-62 win in the rematch on Feb. 18 in Sault Ste. Marie.