Feb. 26, 2011
Box Score
Big Rapids, Mich. -
Despite rallying back from an 11-point second-half deficit, #21 Grand Valley State could not complete the comeback on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 26) in Big Rapids, as the Lakers fell at Ferris State by a 65-62 final. GVSU stayed in the game the entire second half, but could not get closer than one point in the final minutes, as Jasmine Padin's three-point attempt at the buzzer was no good, giving the Bulldogs the victory in the regular season finale for both teams.
The loss puts Grand Valley State at 20-6 on the season and 13-6 in league play, while Ferris State improves its record to 13-13 on the year and 8-11 in the GLIAC. Based on Saturday's results, GVSU will be the #3 seed in the GLIAC Tournament and the Lakers will host #6 Northwood at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night (Mar. 2) in Fieldhouse Arena. Ferris State did not make the conference tournament.
GVSU started out well on Saturday, with sophomores Alex Stelfox and Briauna Taylor scoring on consecutive buckets to start the game with a 4-0 lead. Padin's three-pointer a minute later made the score 7-3, but that would be the Lakers' largest lead of the night. Ferris State tied the score at 10-10 and Tricia Principe made one of her five first-half three-pointers to give the Bulldogs a 13-10 edge.
The teams battled back and forth the rest of the half, with nine lead changes and three ties. Another Padin trifecta put the Lakers on top by a 21-19 count, while GVSU took its last lead of the half (and the game) with 4:28 to play on a jumper from freshman Dani Crandall. Ferris State took a 36-31 advantage to halftime, as the Bulldogs shot 48.1 percent from the floor in the first half and 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from three-point range. GVSU shot 37.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but owned a 22-12 rebounding advantage, including a 9-1 edge on the offensive glass.
Ferris State extended its lead to 44-33 less than five minutes into the second half, but 10 straight points from the Lakers made the game into a one-point contest. Briauna Taylor scored on a layup and sophomore Lauren Stodola buried back-to-back three-pointers in a 39-second span to make the score 44-41. Crandall followed with a layup to get GVSU within a point at 44-43 with 12:56 to play. FSU, however, answered back with a 14-4 run of its own that put the home team on top by a 57-47 score.
At that point, Grand Valley State totaled three consecutive layups, one coming from sophomore Brittany Taylor and the last two coming from Stelfox to bring the score back to 57-53 with 5:50 to play. Again, Ferris State responded with four points from forward Tiara Adams to lead 61-53. But Brittany Taylor scored on a pair of layups, sandwiched around an old-fashioned three-point play from Stodola, cutting the deficit back down to a single point at 61-60.
FSU took a 63-60 lead with a layup from forward Lindsey Pettit with 2:18 to go, but Brittany Taylor scored on the other end with a jumper to make it a 63-62 game with 1:35 showing on the clock. After each team missed shots on their ensuing possessions, Adams drained a pair of free throws for the Bulldogs with nine seconds left, moving the score to 65-62. GVSU came down and Padin had a decent look at a three-point attempt, but the junior guard (who is third all-time in Laker history in three-pointers) was just a little bit off on the shot. It is the first time in five games that the Bulldogs have defeated Grand Valley State.
Ferris State shot 44.9 percent from the floor and made 8-of-16 three-point attempts. Perhaps more importantly, the Bulldogs were 13-of-14 from the charity stripe and won despite being outrebounded 42-27. GVSU shot 38.5 percent from the field and made 5-of-20 triple tries. The Lakers led in points in the paint (34-24), second chance points (18-2), and bench points (22-6), but did commit 19 turnovers. FSU owned a 23-18 edge in points off turnovers and an 8-2 lead in fast break points.
Four Lakers scored in double digits. Stodola was the team leader in points, as she netted 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting. She made 2-of-4 three-pointers and added three boards and two assists in 37 minutes of play. Brittany Taylor supplied 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while pulling down six rebounds.
Crandall, who had been injured and missed six games, scored in double figures for the first time since Jan. 2, supplied 10 points off the Laker bench. She was 4-of-4 at the line and notched four boards and two assists in 23 solid minutes. Briauna Taylor notched 10 points and six boards, five coming on the offensive end. Padin finished with nine points and four assists, while shooting 3-of-10 from three-point range. Stelfox provided eight points, seven boards, and a pair of blocks.
Principe finished with seven three-pointers and scored a game-high 25 points. She made 8-of-16 field goals and 7-of-11 triple tries. Adams was the only other Bulldog in double digits, as she scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Guard Becci Houdek dished out 10 assists for FSU.
