Jan. 5, 2012
Box Score
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Junior center Alex Stelfox hit a buzzer-beater to give Grand Valley State women's basketball team a 50-48 GLIAC win at Saginaw Valley State at James E. O'Neill Arena on Thursday evening.
GVSU now improves to 3-3 in the GLIAC and 6-7 overall while SVSU drops to 3-9 and 1-4 in conference play.
After coming out of a Saginaw Valley State timeout, Stelfox (Bowie, Md.) threw up a lay up at the buzzer that bounced off the rim just to go right back down to give the Lakers the win. GVSU also overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half, which is its biggest comeback this season.
Stelfox just missed a double-double, scoring a game-high 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds. She also dished out three assists with two blocks and four steals. Junior Briauna Taylor (Livonia, Mich.) added 12 points and six rebounds, while senior Kara Crawford (Winamac, Ind.) had eight points.
Stelfox started the game with lay up, but SVSU answered right back, taking a 13-7 lead in over 10 minutes into the opening stanza. The Lakers tied the score at 13 with a Brittany Taylor lay up with 7:01 remaining.
It would be the final tie of the half as Saginaw Valley State jumped back out in front, 23-18 at the 1:54 mark. GVSU scored the final three points of the half on a free throw and Kara Crawford’s jumper just two seconds before the buzzer, but the Cardinals took a 23-21 lead into the locker room.
The Lakers came out of the half to lead 25-23, but SVSU quickly took control of the game going on a 13-1 run to lead 36-26 with 13 minutes left in the half.
GVSU responded with a 12-3 stretch of its own over the next seven minutes to climb within 39-38. The game saw five more lead changes until a pair of Briauna Taylor free throws knotted the score at 46 with 2:18 to play.
Another pair of shots from the line gave GVSU a 48-46 lead before a Cardinal lay up knotted the score with less than 20 seconds to play. With seven seconds remaining, GVSU picked up an offensive rebound and the teams called back-to-back timeouts. Stelfox picked up the inbounds play and made the bucket for the win.
For the game, the Lakers shot just 37 percent on 20-of-53 from the floor, while SVSU had a 46 percent clip on 18-of-39 shooting. Grand Valley State had 16 second chance points and outrebounded the Cardinals 36-22, including a 16-4 edge in offensive caroms.
Kristen Greene paced the Cardinals with 12 points on 4-of-8 from the long range. Samantha Zirzow chipped in 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
GVSU is back in action against Lake Superior State on Saturday at 1 p.m. GVSU owns the all-time series lead by a 46-36 margin and has won four out of their last six meetings.
