Feb. 9, 2012

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

ALLENDALE, Mich. – No. 5 Ashland led from start to finish as the Grand Valley State women’s basketball team fell to the Eagles, 81-58, on Thursday evening at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.  The Lakers look to snap a five-game winning streak against Lake Erie on Saturday at 1 p.m. at home.

The Lakers fall to 9-13 on the season and 6-9 in conference play, while AU extends its winning streak to 21 games for a 21-1 mark overall and remain undefeated at 15-0 in the GLIAC.

Grand Valley State kept Ashland on its toes in the opening minutes of the first half tying the game four times.  A jumper by junior Briauna Taylor (Livonia, Mich.) tied the game at 17-17 with 12:56 remaining, but it would be the closest the Lakers would get for the remainder of the game.

The Eagles opened up a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 13, 30-17 with less than 10 to play in the first.  AU kept a seven-to-10 point advantage over the closing minutes of the opening half to take a 44-32 lead into the locker room.

Ashland’s first half attack was helped by 56.7 percent (17-of-30) shooting from the floor including a 7-for-12 mark from behind the arc.  Jena Stuzman tallied 18 of her game-high 28 points during the opening 20 minutes, while Kari Daughtery pulled down 13 boards of her 17 for the game.

AU used a 14-5 run to open up the second stanza to lead 58-39 just six minutes into the half, but the margin was too much for the Lakers to overcome. Ashland stretched its lead to as much as 25 over the next 14 minutes to take the game.

For GVSU, Taylor led with 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting, while pulling down five rebounds and dishing out four assists.  Senior Kara Crawford (Winamac, Ind.) tallied 12 points and also picked up a game-high four steals.  Sophomore Lindsay McCarty (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and freshman Daina Grazulis (Marquette, Mich.) each had a season-best six boards.

For the game, AU shot 51.6 percent on 33-of-64 from the floor, while the Lakers went 24-for-63 for a 38.1 percent clip.  The Eagles finished the game with an 11-for-24 mark from behind the arc as well. GVSU did use its ability to get inside to its advantage as it finished with a 32-28 edge in the paint.