Feb. 25, 2012

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

ALLENDALE, Mich. – Despite a last second attempt to send the game to overtime, the Grand Valley State women’s basketball team dropped its final contest of the season to West Michigan rival Ferris State, 46-44, on Saturday evening at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.

The loss gives the Lakers a 10-16 mark on the season and a 7-12 record in the GLIAC.  GVSU just missed the conference tournament, but because of two Northern Michigan wins in the final weekend of play, GVSU was knocked out of the top eight in the two divisions.  Ferris State, who will be the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, improves to 20-5 overall and 17-2 in the conference.

Both teams struggled offensively as each only had one player tally double-figure point totals.  For the Lakers, freshman Emily England (Metamore, Mich.) had a career-high 12 points to go along with six rebounds and no turnovers. 

Playing in her final game in a Laker uniform, senior Kara Crawford (Winamac, Ind.) had nine points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal. 

The first half saw both teams fight to find the bottom of the basket as Grand Valley State scored only one field goal in the opening 12 minutes.  Ferris State was hampered by seven turnovers before getting on the board on Nikki Arner’s jumper.

With just a 4-2 lead, the Lakers used a pair of free throws, England’s put-back and freshman Meryl Cripe’s (Elmhurst, Ill.) trey to take an 11-6 lead with 10:20 on the clock.

Despite its lowest first-half output, GVSU was able to maintain the lead and hold a 16-14 edge heading into halftime.  GVSU went 7-of-8 from the line in the opening stanza while holding Ferris State to just six first-half baskets and no looks from behind the arc.

Ferris State came out shooting in the second half, jumping out in front for the first time in the game, but two Laker three-point plays gave GVSU the lead back at 32-30 with 10:18 remaining in the game.

Grand Valley State held a three-to six-point lead over the next four minutes, but the Bulldogs remained in striking distance.  The Ferris State defensive stifled the Lakers as GVSU did not make a basket for the last five minutes of the game.  The Bulldogs then climbed back to tie the game at 44-44 with 34 seconds left on the clock. 

A pair of free throws from Tricia Principe gave Ferris State the go ahead and despite junior Briauna Taylor's best efforts, her jumper fell short of the basket as the clock expired.

For the game, GVSU shot a season-low 24 percent (12-50), while only notching two three-pointers on the day.  Ferris State went 16-for-49 from the floor for a 32.7 percent clip.

Arner led Ferris State with 17 points, while Tricia Principe tallied nine.  Christina Branch grabbed game-high 10 rebounds to help the Bulldogs with a 44-42 edge off the glass. 

Grand Valley State returns 11 players from this seasons roster and adds five newcomers for the 2012-13 season.