Feb. 17, 2011

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Allendale, Mich. - A terrific defensive effort propelled #22 Grand Valley State past Findlay on Thursday night (Feb. 17) in Fieldhouse Arena, as the Lakers captured a 58-41 victory over the Oilers. GVSU held Findlay to just 24.6 percent shooting and 4-of-27 from three-point range, while sophomores Alex Stelfox and Briauna Taylor each recorded a double-double. The Lakers recorded a season-best 52 rebounds and owned a 36-14 edge in points in the paint in notching their 19th win of the year.

GVSU played stellar defensively, recording their lowest defensive field goal percentage (24.6) of the year. In the second half, Findlay shot just 16.2 percent (6-of-37) from the floor and only 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Lakers pulled down 35 rebounds in the second half, which was more than Findlay's total of 30 boards in the game. Grand Valley State shot the ball well, connecting at a 46.2 percent clip, although the Lakers did commit 21 turnovers.

On the year, GVSU improves to 19-5 overall and 12-5 in league play. The Lakers entered the game in third place in the GLIAC North Division, the third seed in the latest Midwest Regional rankings, and #22 nationally in the most recent WBCA poll. Grand Valley State has now won six of its last seven games. Findlay, which was tied for first place in the South Division with Ashland, falls to 15-8 overall and 10-6 in the GLIAC.

Grand Valley State came out of the gates quickly, scoring the game's first five points and opening up a 14-4 lead just 3:32 into the game. Junior point guard Jasmine Padin buried a pair of three-pointers and Stelfox scored on three buckets during the opening surge. Findlay responded, however, and cut the deficit to 18-14 by the midway point of the first half.

The lead was 28-23 with 3:16 to play in the opening half, but Brittany Taylor, Elizabeth Van Tiflin, and Briauna Taylor scored on three layups to up the Laker advantage to 34-23 with 1:26 remaining. Findlay made a jumper at the buzzer to make the score 34-25 at halftime. GVSU owned a 24-8 edge in the paint in the opening 20 minutes and shot an even 50.0 percent from the field, while the Oilers were just 2-of-13 from three-point range.

After a Findlay three-pointer from guard Laura Bardall started the second half, Grand Valley State answered with a 9-0 run. Briauna Taylor buried a three-pointer, Brittany Taylor made a pair of free throws, Stelfox scored on a jumper, and Brittany Taylor added a layup to make the score 43-28. From there, Findlay would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way. The Oilers cut the lead to 10 points twice, but GVSU scored the final seven points of the game on layups from both Taylor girls and a three-pointer from Van Tiflin.

Stelfox was tremendous, as the center racked up her second double-double of the season. She scored 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds while rejecting six Oiler shots. Both the rebounding and block numbers are career-highs. Briauna Taylor added 14 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double this season. Taylor's 13 rebounds are a career-high and she has recorded 10 or more rebounds five times this year. Stelfox and Taylor are the first GVSU teammates to each record a double-double in the same game since Taylor (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Emma Veach (17 points, 10 rebounds) did it last year against Hillsdale on Feb. 6, 2010.

Brittany Taylor joined her sister in double figures, as she made 4-of-6 field goals for 10 points, while adding four boards. Padin scored eight points and handed out three assists, while sophomore Lauren Stodola dished out a game-high six assists and pulled down seven rebounds in a game-high 38 minutes. Van Tiflin supplied five points and six rebounds.

Findlay had three players in double digits, as guards Laura Bardall and Kayla Brown each scored 12 points. The duo shot just 10-of-34 from the field. Guard Clare Aubrey added 10 points, but was only 3-of-17 from the floor and 2-of-14 from behind the arc.

The Lakers will look to secure their 20th win of the season on Saturday (Feb. 19), as GVSU takes on Wayne State at 3:00 p.m. in Fieldhouse Arena. WSU picked up a solid 83-74 road win over Ferris State on Thursday night in Big Rapids.