ALLENDALE, Mich.—Timely defense and clutch shots were the building blocks as  the Lakers overcame a sluggish first half to earn a 68-57 victory over Michigan Tech on Saturday at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. Bailey Cairnduff led the Lakers in scoring with 18 points, and Korynn Hincka and Kayla Dawson each added 13 for the Lakers, who got their first victory over the Huskies since 2014.
 
Cairnduff got the Lakers off to a good start in this one, hitting a 3-pointer to open the game's scoring one minute into the contest. After that, however, the Huskies would score the next six points to take the lead.  Grand Valley then exploded for 10 straight points, taking a 13-6 lead off of a Korynn Hincka layup with four minutes left in the first quarter. The Huskies would then go on a 12-3 run of their own over the next four minutes, and took an 18-16 lead to end the quarter.
 
In the second quarter, the Huskies would build up a five point lead with four and a half minutes left off of a 3 pointer by Mackenzie Perttu, one of four triples she would have in the game. The lead was the largest of the game for Michigan Tech, and the score would be their last of the half, as the Lakers forced defensive stops on the remaining Huskie posessions while slowly chipping away at the lead. After a pair of Hincka free throws, a pullup jumper by Janae Langs and a Cairnduff triple, Grand Valley seized a 30-28 lead going into half, a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
 
Grand Valley would finish the half shooting 43.5 percent (10-23) from the field, but the 30 first half points was just one above their lowest first half total this season (29, at Quincy 11/15). The Lakers were outrebounded in the first half 12-20, and had just one offensive board. However they had committed just two turnovers, and had scored six points off of five Huskie turnovers.
 
Coming out of the half, the Huskies would tie the ball game at 30 with a quick layup on their first possession.  Lakers guard Brionna Barnett would then heat up in dramatic fashion, draining a triple to put the Lakers back ahead, and then scoring a layup and a foul shot on the next possession. Following Barnett's old-fashioned three point play, Bailey Cairnduff muscled for an offensive rebound and layed it back in, capping off the 8-0 Laker run with 7 minutes left in the third quarter.  The teams would trade buckets back and forth on the next few possessions, before the Huskies made things interesting as time wound down in the third. After a Dawson layup made the score 45-38, Mackenzie Perttu would hit a pair of free throws. Taylor Parmley would answer for the Lakers with a layup, and Perrtu would hit triples on back to back posessions for the Huskies to end the third quare=ter, trimming the lead to 47-44.
 
After a layup to begin the fourth cut the lead to just one point, not much else would go well for the Huskies. The fourth quarter would be the best for the Lakers, as they would outscore Tech 21-13 and seal the game by tightening up on defense. The Huskies would shoot just 6-19 in the final frame, and the Lakers sank crucial free throws down the stretch to seal the game.
 
Grand Valley would finish 50 percent (23-46) from the field as well as from beyond the arc (7-14), but shot just 65 percent (15-23) from the charity stripe, allowing the Huskies to keep the difference low. Despite being outrebounded (35-33), albeit narrowly, the Lakers held Michigan Tech to just 34 percent (21-61) from the field, and just 27 percent (4-15) from beyond the arc.
 
Hincka led the Lakers in rebounds, with eight, and also blocked three shots. Cairnduff tied her season high with seven boards, and added three steals. She was 6-9 from the field, and 4-5 from downtown.

Mackenzie Perttu finished with 21 points, and Danielle Blake added 18 points and 7 rebounds for the Huskies, who drop to 9-5 overall and 7-3 in the GLIAC.
 
The win improves the Lakers record to 12-4 (7-3 GLIAC), and brings them even with Michigan Tech for second place in the North Division, behind Saginaw Valley. It is also the Laker's third straight win, and sixth win in their last seven games.
 
Grand Valley returns to action on Thursday, January 21^st on the road at Lake Superior State University, before returning home to face Northwood on Saturday, January 23^rd at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena at 6 p.m.