Jan. 22, 2011

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Allendale, Mich. - It was supposed to be a battle of top-20 teams on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 22) in Allendale, but #8 Michigan Tech shot a shade under 68 percent from the field in the first half and cruised to an 84-64 victory over #19 Grand Valley State. The Huskies led 51-25 at halftime and finished the game with a 52.9 field goal percentage, knocking off the Lakers despite Briauna Taylor's career-high 33 points.

Michigan Tech defeated GVSU in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 19 in Houghton, but it was a close contest with MTU winning 60-55. On Saturday, the Huskies already had 51 points at halftime, thanks to 67.9 percent shooting (19-of-28) and 6-of-9 from three-point range. The 84 points allowed by Grand Valley State were a season-high for points allowed, while it was also the Huskies' most points scored this year.

GVSU falls to 13-4 on the season and 7-4 in GLIAC play, as the Lakers shot 37.3 percent from the field, but did make 8-of-18 three-pointers for a 44.4 percent clip. Grand Valley State committed a season-low five turnovers and outscored MTU in the second half 39-33, but it was too little too late. Michigan Tech, who improves to 14-2 overall and 9-1 in conference play, owned a 45-27 rebounding advantage, drained 8-of-15 three-pointers, and made 22 free throws in the win.

Just 2:21 into the game, the Huskies already led 10-0 on a pair of three-pointers, one coming from Lucy Dernovsek, who had seven of the team's first 10 points. GVSU's Jasmine Padin knocked down a three-pointer and made the score 10-3, but Michigan Tech's Sam Hoyt answered with a triple of her own and the Huskies were ahead 13-3 at the 17:06 mark. From that point, Grand Valley State trailed by double digits the rest of the game.

Taylor scored five quick points to get the MTU advantage down to 21-11 at the 12:21 mark, but Michigan Tech scored 11 straight points to lead 32-11 with 9:04 remaining. The Huskies went into the half owning a 51-25, with Taylor scoring 15 of GVSU's 25 points. She was 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range in 16 first-half minutes, while Dernovsek and Hoyt tallied 13 points apiece in the opening frame.

The MTU lead ballooned to 32 points (67-35) at the 11:43 mark in the second half, but Grand Valley State started to make a dent in the score, getting a pair of free throws from sophomore Alex Stelfox and a three-pointer from Taylor to make the score 69-48 with 7:35 remaining. Stelfox, Taylor, and Brittany Taylor scored on three consecutive buckets to get the lead down to 19 points (75-56) at the 3:34 mark. GVSU would pull within 18 points a few times in the final minutes, but the Huskies would finish off the 20-point victory at the free throw line.

Despite the loss, Briauna Taylor's performance was outstanding. The 33 points came on 12-of-22 shooting, as she made 6-of-8 three-pointers and 3-of-6 free throws. She added six rebounds and a pair of steals, while not turning the ball over in 35 minutes. Her 33 points are the most by a GVSU player since Niki Reams totaled 34 points in a 91-76 victory at Drury in the regional championship game on Mar. 13, 2006.

Sophomore Lauren Stodola had a solid statline of nine points, a career-high seven assists, three rebounds, and two steals, while nearly playing all 40 minutes in the game. Freshman Tori Klewicki-McNutt added eight points in 20 minutes off the bench.

GVSU returns to the home floor on Wednesday night (Jan. 26) for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game with visiting Urbana. On Nov. 12 in the Lakers' season opener, Grand Valley State won at Urbana by a 73-67 final.