Allendale, Mich. -- For the first time all season, the Grand Valley State women's basketball team dropped a game on its home floor. The Lakers, who shot just 29.1 percent (16-of-55) from the field, saw their 11-game home winning streak—tied for the fifth-longest run in school history— come to an end in Saturday (Feb. 7) afternoon's 57-41 loss to No. 13 Michigan Tech.
The only GVSU player to score more than six points was junior guard
Brionna Barnett. The Elkhart, Indiana product poured in 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting. She also nabbed four rebounds.
Sophomore forward
Piper Tucker and sophomore guard
Taylor Lutz chipped in six points apiece and combined for six rebounds. Senior forward
Kat LaPrairie and sophomore forward
Kayla Dawson each contributed five points. Additionally, LaPrairie's team-best five rebounds matched her season high.
Defensively, the Lakers put forth an outstanding effort, limiting Michigan Tech to just 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from the floor. But the Huskies managed to drain six three-pointers, outscoring the Lakers by a half-dozen points from beyond the arc.
Right from the onset, Michigan Tech's length made it difficult for GVSU to get clean looks. The Lakers made just three of their first 17 attempts, but found themselves only down by three points at the 9:29 mark.
A layup by Lutz trimmed the deficit to a single point a little less than three minutes later. Then the Huskies came alive. Over the next five minutes, Michigan Tech rattled off a 13-4 run to take a commanding 10-point lead. The Lakers responded with five points, including a buzzer-beating 30-footer from LaPrairie, in the half's final 51 seconds.
The shooting struggles continued, though, GVSU stayed within three points until the 11:10 mark of the second stanza. From there on out, it was all Michigan Tech, as it ended the game on a 22-12 run.
The loss drops the Lakers to 15-6 overall and 12-5 in GLIAC play. GVSU still sits in second place in the GLIAC North Division, one game ahead of Northern Michigan and Hillsdale. It will look to stay there when it travels to Lake Superior State this Thursday (Feb. 12). Tip off in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET.
