Allendale, Mich.-- The Grand Valley State women's basketball team will close the 2015 half of their season with a non-conference game against NAIA opponent University of Michigan-Dearborn at 1 p.m on Sunday at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. It is the second NAIA opponent of the season for the Lakers, having defeated Indiana University Northwest 87-53 on November 19th at home.
GVSU comes into Sunday's matchup fresh off the second pair of GLIAC weekend games, splitting the pair of road games by defeating Tiffin 73-50 on Friday, and dropping Sunday's contest to Ohio Dominican, 79-72. In Friday's matchup, the Lakers had four players in double digits in the defeat of the Dragons, led by
Korynn Hincka's 14 points and nine rebounds. Guard
Taylor Lutz had 13, and
Piper Tucker and
Kayla Dawson each chipped in ten points. In Sunday's loss, the Lakers were pushed around by the Panther's size, surrendering 50 rebounds (19 offensive) as they squandered a ten point halftime loss and saw their GLIAC record even up at 2-2.
As they look to rebound from Sunday's loss, the Lakers have a chance to defend their home court against winless U-M Dearborn (0-12 overall, 0-7 WHAC). The Wolverines are averaging just 49 points a game this season, well below the mark the Lakers surrender per game (65.6). Grand Valley will enjoy the lack of a strong post presence for the Wolverines, as two of the past three games have seen the Lakers not fare well against strong post players. The Wolverines entire roster is below six feet tall, making them a far easier matchup for the slightly undersized Lakers.
On offense, the Lakers have averaged a healthy 71 points per game, good for sixth in the GLIAC conference, but rank eigth in the country in made three pointers per game, and first in the conference in that category. Guard
Kayla Dawson leads the way with 14.8 points per game, while
Brionna Barnett, fresh off a 22 point effort on Sunday versus Ohio Dominican, is close behind with 13.3 points per game. The Lakers have done well taking care of the ball on offense and limiting turnovers, as they commit just 14 a game, and own a +45 margin in turnover margin versus opponents.
Tipoff for Sunday is set for 1 p.m. at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena, where Grand Valley is 3-1 this season.
