Threes were wild again at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. For the second time this season, the Grand Valley State women's basketball team drained 13 three-point baskets, propelling it to a dominant 95-72 victory over No. 5 Gannon.
 
A trio of Lakers led the sharpshooting on Saturday (Nov. 29). Junior guard Brionna Barnett, sophomore forward Kayla Dawson and senior forward Kat LaPrairie combined for 59 points on 21-of-33 shooting, including a 10-of-12 effort from beyond the arc. Barnett's 23 points—with 17 coming in the second half—six assists and five rebounds were all career highs. LaPrairie added 20 points, making it her second consecutive 20-point outing, and a season-high three assists. Dawson also had a balanced effort, pitching in 16 points, three assists and five rebounds.
 
Those three may have been the standouts, but nearly every Laker had a hand in the rout. Five other GVSU players—Jammie Botruff, Meryl Cripe, Korynn Hincka, Taylor Lutz and Piper Tucker—scored at least six points.
 
As a team, the Lakers shot a season-high 60 percent (36 for 60) from the floor. They also made 13 of their 20 trifectas, finishing with their highest three-point field goal percentage (65.0) since Feb. 11, 2012, when they made 68.8 percent of its long-distance attempts against Lake Erie.
 
It took less than three minutes for the Lakers to start clicking. With the score knotted at 6-6, GVSU made five consecutive field goals, scoring 12 unanswered points and grabbing a double-digit lead. Following a pair of Gannon free throws, LaPrairie sank one of her six threes and added a layup two possessions later to make it 23-8 at the 12:10 mark.
 
The Golden Knights hung tough, but another trey from LaPrairie and back-to-back baskets by Lutz gave GVSU a 21-point lead (43-22). Barnett tossed in two freebies in the waning minutes of the opening half to make it 51-29 at the break.
 
It marked the first time since Nov. 28, 2011—an 85-45 blowout of Urbana—the Lakers scored 50-plus points in a half.
 
GVSU eventually stretched its lead to 27 points in the second frame. Although Gannon cut the deficit to 17 points on two occasions, it never got any closer.
 
The team's 95 points were the most since it put up the same total in a 95-69 victory over Indianapolis back on March 12, 2005. This is also the first time since the 1975-76 campaign the Lakers have opened the season with three double-digit victories.
 
Seeking its first 4-0 start since the 2010-11 season, GVSU now turns its attention to an upcoming two-game road trip to Ohio. The Lakers faces Ashland at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday (Dec. 4) and Lake Erie on Saturday (Dec. 6) at 1 p.m.