ALLENDALE, Mich.— The Grand Valley State women's basketball team overcame a sluggish first quarter, exploding for 25 points in the second quarter and turning a slim one point lead into a 18 point halftime lead on their way to a 63-42 win at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena on Saturday. Lindsay Baker led the Lakers with 15 points (5-6 3-pt.), and Kayla Dawson added 14 for Grand Valley, which moves to 15-5 overall, and 10-4 in the GLIAC.
 
Though Grand Valley would score first at the beginning of the game, getting a pair of free throws from Piper Tucker to get on the board, the rest of the first quarter was a sluggish, mistake-prone period. The two teams would combine to record more turnovers (12) than made field goals in the quarter (9).  Grand Valley would carry a one point advantage into the second quarter after a Taylor Lutz layup with nine seconds left in the first.
 
In the second quarter, the Lakers finally found their groove, opening up the quarter on a 12-2 run, capped by a steal and layup by Bailey Cairnduff. After the two teams traded buckets for a few minutes, a Kayla Dawson layup started yet another Laker run, this time an 11-2 run heading into halftime, during which Lindsay Baker hit two triples, and the Lakers took a 37-19 lead into halftime as a result. The offensive explosion gave the Lakers a 25-8 scoring edge for the quarter, and put the game firmly into control.
 
After shooting just 30 percent from the field in the first quarter, the Lakers upped that mark to 44 percent from the field with their explosive second quarter. The Chargers, meanwhile, were held to just 26.5 percent from the field in the first half, and were 0-12 from beyond the arc, compared to 7-17 for Grand Valley.
 
To open the third quarter, Bailey Cairnduff hit a triple, and after a Hillsdale layup and a Taylor Lutz free throw, added another with five and a half minutes left in the third quarter. A Taylor Parmley layup then capped an 8-0 run for Grand Valley and pushing the lead to 25 points with just under three minutes left to play, up 48-23. Hillsdale then went on a burst of it's own, rattling off a 9-2 run to close out the quarter, and draw the score to 50-32.
 
The final quarter began with a scoring drought for both teams, as the first basket for either came at just under eight minutes left. Grand Valley would nonetheless outscore the Chargers in the fourth quarter by a margin of 13-10, sealing the game by a final score of 62-42. The win was the eleventh double digit win in a row for the Lakers, and was another strong effort on the defensive end, as the game was the 12^th this season where the Lakers held their opponent below 60 points for the game.
 
Grand Valley would finish the day 41.5 percent (22-53) from the field, and 45.8 percent (11-24) from beyond the arc. Grand Valley would also hit 8-11 (.727) free throw shots. Hillsdale managed just 28.4 percent (19-67) from the field, and a dismal 2-27 (7.4%) from beyond the arc. The two teams combined for 40 turnovers in the contest, 22 from GVSU and 18 from Hillsdale.
 
GVSU faces a quick turnaround, with a return to action on Monday, February 1^st at Ferris State University. Tip off for that game is set for 6 p.m.