Snow fell all day and night in Allendale, but once the Grand Valley State women's basketball team tipped off its season opener, three-point baskets were the only thing coming down. The Lakers drained 13 threes—their highest total since making 14 against Lake Superior State on Feb. 19, 2009—easily shooting themselves past Rochester College in an 87-31 rout.
 
Senior forward Kat LaPrairie led the healthy stable of three-point shooters, sinking four of five attempts from beyond the arc and totaling 14 points. Wisconsin-Green Bay transfer Brionna Barnett tallied 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a trio of trifectas and dished out a game-high four assists. Guards Lindsay Baker and Janae Langs, who finished with a career-high 10 points, each made a pair of treys as well.
 
As a whole, the GVSU went 13 for 28 from distance. Those 28 attempts from three-point range were the most by a Laker team since Dec. 5, 2013, when they jacked up 31 threes against Ashland. Overall, GVSU shot 47.8 percent (33-69) from the field.
 
One of the most efficient performances of the evening came from freshman forward Korynn Hincka. The Posen, Mich. native collected a game-high 13 rebounds and chipped in 10 points—all in just 14 minutes of action—for her first collegiate double-double.
 
Freshman forward Piper Tucker quietly sank four baskets in a nine-point, six-rebound performance.
 
Teamwork was also a theme of the night. Of the Lakers' 33 baskets, 21 were assisted.
 
Defensively, GVSU applied pressure at every opportunity, forcing the Warriors into 19 turnovers. The Lakers turned those miscues into 30 points.
 
Right from the outset, it was clear GVSU would be firing on all cylinders for much of the evening. The team made four of its first five three-point attempts to take a 12-0 lead less than four minutes into the opening half. That lead would balloon to 21 points before Rochester made its first field goal at the 10:08 mark.
 
As the barrage of threes continued to fall—nine went down in the first half alone—the Lakers built their lead to 34 points by halftime.
 
Everything remained the same in the second stanza, as GVSU went on to lead by 59 points (87-28) with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Things will get much tougher for the Lakers in a hurry, though. GVSU welcomes GLVC foe Indianapolis to Allendale this Saturday (Nov. 22) for the second leg of a three-game homestand. Tip off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.