Jan. 2, 2011

Box Score

Grand Rapids, Mich. - Starting off the 2011 season on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 2), #9 Grand Valley State had little trouble at Aquinas, knocking off the Saints by an 88-55 score. The Lakers shot a season-best 55.7 percent from the field and poured in 50 points inside the paint in winning their 10th game of the season before jumping back into GLIAC play later this week. Four players tallied double-digits for GVSU, led by 18 points apiece from junior Jasmine Padin and sophomore Alex Stelfox.

It was the Lakers' first game since a 60-55 loss at Michigan Tech all the way back on Dec. 19, but Grand Valley State rebounded nicely to improve to 10-1 on the year, while Aquinas falls to 5-11. The game was more of a tune-up for the second part of the season, which begins on Thursday (Jan. 6), as the Lakers will play four important conference games in the span of 10 days.

GVSU shot the ball extremely well in both halves, making 17-of-31 attempts (54.8 percent) in the first half and knocking down 17-of-30 shots (56.7 percent) in the final 20 minutes. The Lakers were strong from outside, connecting on 7-of-14 three-point attempts, which included Padin's marksmanship, as she was 5-of-6 from long range. Grand Valley State owned a huge 50-16 edge in the paint, but also used a 32-14 advantage in points off turnovers and a 39-27 lead in bench points to finish off the Saints.

If the Lakers had any rust from not playing in two weeks, it did not show early, as the team scored the game's first 11 points. Stelfox contributed the first three buckets, scoring six points in the opening 62 seconds of the contest. Sophomore Briauna Taylor hit a jumper and guard Lauren Stodola nailed a three-pointer to push out to an 11-0 lead at the 17:08 mark of the first half.

Aquinas stayed relatively close at 33-22 with 8:16 remaining in the half, but GVSU closed out the half with a 12-2 run, holding the Saints to just one made shot in the final eight-plus minutes. Stelfox scored on a jumper, which was followed by a pair of free throws from Taylor. Padin hit a jumpshot and freshman Tori Klewicki-McNutt nailed consecutive jumpers before sophomore Brittany Taylor ended the first half scoring with a bucket, assisted by sister Briauna. At halftime, the Lakers were on top by a 45-24 count.

Grand Valley State led 51-35 in the second half, but Padin nailed a pair of three-pointers in a 25-second span to up the advantage to 57-35. A minute and a half later, after a Stodola jumper, Padin made a third three-pointer to put the Lakers on top, 62-38 with 14:15 left in the game. Padin's fifth triple of the game gives her 147 made three-pointers in her career, putting her into fourth place all-time in Laker history and moving her past former Laker Crystal Zick, who made 146 trifectas from 2005-08. Those two shots by Stodola and Padin were the start of a GVSU 12-0 run that blew the game wide open and ended after back-to-back jumpers from Stelfox.

Freshman Dani Crandall would pour in six points late in the half and after a pair of free throws from freshman Breanna Kellogg, the Lakers were ahead 86-49. GVSU concluded its scoring on a jumper from guard Kristen Eible, who is familiar to Laker soccer fans for being the team's starting midfielder during the past two seasons when Grand Valley State won back-to-back Division II National Championships. Sunday was Eible's first appearance on the basketball court, as she made her only field goal attempt and totaled two points and an assist in 12 minutes of action.

Padin played very well against the Saints, tying Stelfox with a team-high 18 points, as the sharpshooter was 5-of-6 from downtown and added five assists and four rebounds, without turning the ball over in 20 minutes of work. Stelfox was 9-of-12 from the field for her 18 points, as she also supplied two boards and a pair of assists.

Klewicki-McNutt was 4-of-8 from the field and totaled 11 points and three rebounds, playing a team-high 22 minutes off the bench. Crandall notched 10 points and three boards, while shooting 4-of-5 from the floor. Briauna Taylor had a solid statline in just 18 minutes, as she recorded eight points, a team-high seven rebounds, a career-high five assists, and four steals, while sophomore Jessica Trambley was 3-of-4 from the floor and scored seven points in 13 minutes.

The Lakers resume GLIAC play this Thursday (Jan. 6) at 8:00 p.m., as GVSU will host Saginaw Valley State in Fieldhouse Arena. Grand Valley State is 4-1 in conference play and will play at home for the first time since Dec. 4, as the Lakers were 4-1 on their five-game road trip in the past month.