ALLENDALE, Mich.—The Grand Valley State women's basketball team won again in dominant fashion at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena despite being far from their best offensively. Kayla Dawson scored 18 and Bailey Cairnduff added 14 for the Lakers, who won 70-30 against a Wildcats squad that struggled to get much of anything going.
 
Grand Valley (11-4, 6-3 GLIAC) connected on 40.3 percent (25-62) of shots from the field, and hit 10 3-pointers, converting 38.5 percent (10-26) from beyond the arc. After falling behind 0-5 in the first minutes of the game thanks to a pair of Wildcat buckets and a free throw, the Lakers first scored at the 7:00 mark in the first quarter, thanks to a Piper Tucker free throw. Those free throws sparked a 15-3 Laker run over the remainder of the quarter, giving the Lakers a 7 point lead at the end of the first, leading 15-8.  Cairnduff and Taylor Lutz each had five points in the Laker run, and Tucker added a layup to her pair of free throws.
 
In the second quarter, the Lakers opened up another 15 point run before the Wildcats even got their first points of the quarter. Kayla Dawson opened up the run, and scored eight points across four consecutive Laker posessions. Taylor Parmley would hit a layup on the next possession, followed by a Cairnduff three pointer and a jumper by Korynn Hincka. Northern Michigan would score just three points in the quarter, and the Lakers would allow season low 11 points for an opponent in the first half, taking a 35-11 lead into the break.
 
In the third quarter, the Lakers would continue to expand the lead, outscoring the Wildcats 20-8 over the duration. Kayla Dawson would continue to show her offensive skillset, going 4-4 on free throws and adding a pair of layups.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats had their highest scoring output of the game, finishing with 11 points to the Lakers 15, and narrowly skirted being the first Laker opponent since  Mercyhurst in 2005 to be held below 30 points for the game.  After the final bell had sounded, the Lakers had managed to hold Northern Michigan below 20 percent shooting for the game, the first time Grand Valley had done that since the 2004 season (Merchurst 16.7%). The Lakers held the Wildcats to just 17.8 percent from the field (8-45), and hit more 3 pointers in the game than the Wildcats had field goals.
 
Dawson would finished with 18 points on 6-10 shooting from the field and a 6-7 effort at the charity stripe. She also added seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. Cairnduff would finish 5-11 from the field (4-8 3-Pt), while Taylor Lutz used an efficient 4-6 effort to finish as the third Laker in double figures with 10 points. Reserve center Korynn Hincka just missed out on a double-double, scoring eight points to go along with 10 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
 
Darby Youngstrom and Sydney Dillinger would lead the Wildcats with six points apiece.
 
Next up for the Lakers is a pivotal matchup on Saturday with Michigan Tech (9-4, 7-2 GLIAC), 78-49 winners over Ferris State on Thursday. Tip off is set for 1:00 pm at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Michigan.