Allendale, Mich. -- Another home game, and another victory picked up by the Grand Valley State women's basketball team. Despite shooting just 38 percent (22-of-57) from the field, the Lakers never trailed and led by as many as 18 points in their 58-48 victory over Lake Superior State.
 
GVSU had just two scorers reach double figures, one of which was Meryl Cripe, who poured in a career-high 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting. The Elmhurst, Illinois native also handed out two assists, grabbed two rebounds and notched a pair of steals in 15 minutes of action. Sophomore forward Piper Tucker bounced back from a scoreless effort at last Sunday (Jan. 17) with an 11-point, seven-rebound outing.
 
Freshman center Korynn Hincka is trending upward as well. The 6-foot-1 big scored eight points, mostly from jumpers near the block, and nabbed seven boards. Hincka also blocked a three-point shot for the third straight game, eventually totaling a pair of swats.
 
Rounding out the solid effort from the Laker bench was sophomore guard Janae Langs' four points. GVSU's bench combined for 23 points and went 9-of-20 from the field.
 
Although Lake Superior State dominated the offensive glass—it ended with a 17-8 advantage in the offensive rebound column—the Lakers' ability to create turnovers outweighed their shortcoming. GVSU turned 16 LSSU turnovers into 18 points.
 
Unsurprisingly, the Lakers, tied for first among Division II clubs in fewest turnovers per game, only had nine giveaways.
 
It looked like GVSU was on its way to another one-sided victory at home by the halfway point of the first half. The Lakers led 13-2 and were smothering any LSSU shot attempt. They managed to go up by as many as 12 in the opening 20 minutes, but things felt much closer than the scoreboard reflected.
 
LSSU refused to wilt as well. By the 10:42 mark of the second half, it was still hanging around, trailing by just eight points. That was as close as it would get, however.
 
GVSU put away the Lakers with an 8-0 run a little over two minutes later.
 
The victory lifts the Lakers to 11-4 overall and 8-3 in GLIAC play. It also marked GVSU's eighth consecutive home win, equal to the seventh-longest run in school history.
 
Next up for the Lakers is a trip to Northwood on Saturday (Jan. 24). The two clubs will battle for sole possession of second place in the GLIAC North Division. Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.