March 2, 2010

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Allendale, Mich. - Lake Superior State knocked off Grand Valley State in the opening round of the GLIAC Tournament on Thursday night (Mar. 2) in Allendale by a 61-51 score. The loss knocks GVSU out of the conference tournament, while LSSU advances to the GLIAC Final Four this weekend. Grand Valley State will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday night (Mar. 7).

With the loss, Grand Valley State falls to 18-10 overall, as the home Lakers were the #3 seed in the conference tournament. Lake Superior State was seeded sixth and improves to 15-12 on the year. After defeating LSSU, 73-49, on Jan. 9 in Allendale, Grand Valley State lost the rematch on Feb. 18 in Sault Ste. Marie before dropping the rubber match on Tuesday night. The NCAA Tournament selections will be handed out on Sunday night, as GVSU was slotted sixth in the latest Midwest Regional rankings, as the top eight teams advance.

GVSU opened up strong with eight straight points to push ahead 8-3, as junior Elizabeth Van Tiflin drained a three-pointer and sank a pair of free throws and sophomore Emma Veach knocked down a triple try. The game was tied for the fourth time at the 12-12 mark when Van Tiflin hit her second three-pointer, which was followed by a layup from freshman center Alex Stelfox to push the lead to 17-12.

Trailing 20-16, Lake Superior State made a late push by going on an 11-2 run to close the half and take a 27-22 advantage into halftime. Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, with GVSU connecting at a 28.6 percent clip and LSSU shooting 36.0 percent from the field. The biggest issue was Grand Valley State turned the ball over 11 times in the first half with Lake Superior State scoring 13 points off those miscues.

LSSU quickly pushed the lead to a dozen points at 36-24 with 17:26 remaining in the second half. Grand Valley State cut the deficit to seven points after back-to-back buckets from sophomore Kelly Kretz and freshman Brittany Taylor made the score, 38-31, at the 14:07 mark. Kretz's three-pointer just 26 seconds later kept GVSU within seven points at 41-34.

Lake Superior State the scored the next five points before freshman Lauren Stodola drained a trifecta to keep GVSU within single digits at 46-37 with 10:48 remaining. However, LSSU scored four straight points and would lead by double-digits the rest of the game, as Grand Valley State could get no closer than 10 points the remainder of the contest.

For the game, Lake Superior State shot 42.9 percent from the floor and made 15-of-20 (75.0 percent) free throws. GVSU connected on just 32.7 percent of its attempts, but the home Lakers made 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) of its three-pointers. Grand Valley State owned a 23-8 advantage in bench points, but LSSU forced 16 turnovers and owned a 22-12 edge in points off turnovers. Lake Superior State also controlled the paint with a 26-18 advantage in the key.

GVSU did not have a player in double figures, as the scoring was spread out. Kretz led the way with nine points and five rebounds. She made both three-point attempts and added two steals. Van Tiflin notched eight points and eight rebounds, while junior Kara Crawford added seven points and eight rebounds. Veach totaled seven points and two steals, while Taylor supplied six points and four boards off the bench.