In a game that epitomized postseason basketball, fourth-seeded Grand Valley State gave top seed and #9 nationally ranked Michigan Tech all the Huskies could handle on their home floor on Saturday afternoon (Mar. 7) in the GLIAC semifinals. The Lakers led with 3:43 to play and trailed by just three points with two minutes remaining before MTU closed out the game, 77-66.
 
Michigan Tech (26-2) got the best of GVSU (20-8) in two regular season meetings, but the Lakers had the home Huskies on the ropes late in the second half in Houghton. Ultimately, MTU's clutch free throw shooting - the Huskies were 8-for-8 in the final 51 seconds, 27-for-29 in the game) - was the turning point in the contest.
 
The victory puts Michigan Tech into Sunday's 2:00 p.m. championship game against the winner of the second semifinal between third seed Ashland and seventh-seeded Walsh.
 
Grand Valley State awaits its NCAA Tournament fate and hopes its performance against the Huskies will play well in the minds of the national committee. In the latest regional rankings released on Wednesday, GVSU was the eighth seed in the Midwest Region; the top eight teams will advance to next week's NCAA Tournament. Those pairings will be announced late Sunday night.
 
The Lakers were attempting to upset Michigan Tech and defeat the Huskies in Houghton for the first time since Feb. 14, 2007. And thanks to a strong second half, Grand Valley State nearly did.
 
After battling to a 33-33 halftime score, it appeared Michigan Tech started to pull away, jumping ahead 49-39 with 15:13 to play. At that point, GVSU made a game-changing run, scoring the next 13 points and taking a 52-49 advantage.
 
It started with junior guard Brionna Barnett, who was outstanding just one day after being named to the All-GLIAC First Team. She hit three free throws and connected on back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to 49-46. Senior Kat LaPrairie drilled a three-pointer on the Lakers' next possession to tie the score. A minute later, junior Jammie Botruff's trifecta put GVSU out in front, 52-49.
 
Michigan Tech knotted the score at 52-52 before sophomore Piper Tucker swished a three-pointer, which was quickly followed by a Barnett jumper with 5:45 to play. After a pair of MTU free throws, Barnett hit another jumpshot to re-establish a five-point lead at 59-54.
 
Two more Tech freebies and a clutch three-pointer once again tied the score at 59-59 with just over four minutes remaining. Sophomore Kayla Dawson connected on two free throws at the 3:43 mark to give GVSU its final lead at 61-59.
 
The Huskies' Jillian Ritchie converted an old-fashioned three-point play on Tech's next possession, putting the home team back out in front, 62-61. From there, Michigan Tech outscored the Lakers 15-5, which included 12-for-12 shooting at the free throw line.
 
Barnett did everything she could to keep GVSU in the ballgame. The junior poured in a career-high 28 points, making 11-of-23 shots and 6-of-9 free throws. She added four assists, three rebounds, and just one turnover in 35 minutes. Her previous career-high was 23 points in the rout over #5 Gannon on Nov. 29, 2014.
 
In the first half, Barnett tossed in 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, as the Lakers went to halftime all even with MTU. Barnett scored the team's first four points, as GVSU pushed out to an early 9-2 advantage after a LaPrairie three-ball. It was the Lakers' biggest lead of the game.
 
Tucker did not miss a shot all afternoon, scoring 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting. She made all three of her three-point attempts, while adding four boards. LaPrairie also reached double-digits with 10 points, as she knocked two trifectas. The senior recorded a game-best three steals. Sophomore guard Janae Langs pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, setting a new career-high for the 5'4" guard, who had grabbed six boards in a game twice.
 
The Lakers outshot Michigan Tech, connecting on 42.4 percent of its field goal tries, while the Huskies shot at a 38.2 percent clip. GVSU was 6-for-16 from beyond the arc, as Michigan Tech went 8-for-18.
 
Tech's advantage at the free throw line was the telltale stat: 27-for-29 compared to just 10-of-15 for the Lakers. MTU also won the rebounding battle, 40-29.
 
As expected, turnovers did not play much of a factor. Entering the game, Michigan Tech averaged the fewest turnovers per game of any Division II team, while GVSU gave up the second-fewest. On Saturday, MTU had six turnovers, while the Lakers coughed it up only five times.
 
Michigan Tech's 1-2 punch of Ritchie and Danielle Blake was too much to overcome. The duo combined for 52 points - 27 for Ritchie, 25 for Blake - and 23 rebounds, shooting 13-for-25 from the field. Ritchie made 5-of-7 triple tries and Blake went 13-for-15 at the free throw line, while pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.
 
All five Husky starters played at least 32 minutes and scored all 77 of the team's points.