ALLENDALE, Mich.— A strong effort on both sides of the ball propelled the Lakers to a lopsided victory on Saturday evening in the team's season opener at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The game doubled as both the season and home opener for the Lakers, and was the opening game of the 2016 GLIAC/GLVC Challenge.
 
The Lakers scored the first points of the game—a Kayla Dawson layup 12 seconds in—and never relinquished the lead, scoring at will against the Hawks on their way to shooting 49 percent from the field (30-61 FG) in the game. Bailey Cairnduff led GVSU with 15 points on 5-10 shooting, while Taylor Parmley chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Janae Langs stuffed the stat sheet with seven rebounds, five points and six assists.
 
Grand Valley State scored the first six points of the game, and after the two teams exchanged baskets to get the score to 13-7 with 3:48 left in the first quarter, GVSU would close the quarter on an 8-0 run to lead 21-7 after one period of play.
 
In the second quarter, the two teams traded baskets back and forth to open the quarter before the Hawks hit a three pointer to pull within 12, 26-14 with 6:31 left in the second quarter. A Taylor Lutz layup and free throw was followed shortly thereafter by a jumper from Kayla Dawson, which pushed the lead to 31-14. Quincy then hit a jumper, which Laker freshman Jenn DeBoer followed with a three-pointer for the first points of her career, which gave GVSU a 34-16 lead.
 
After a pair of Quincy free throws, the Lakers ended the half on a 6-0 run on baskets from Langs, DeBoer and senior Piper Tucker to enter the halftime break up by a 40-18 margin.
 
Coming out of halftime, Cairnduff would hit one of her three triples in the game to put the Lakers up 43-18. The Hawk's Cha Cha Williams then scored two straight baskets to cut into the lead, before a Dawson triple and a Langs three-point play pushed the lead to 27. The teams exchanged baskets back and forth for several minutes before a Lindsay Baker three-pointer, a Taylor Lutz layup and a Parmley free throw closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run to give the Lakers a 32 point lead.
 
With the game well in hand, GVSU's starters would take a seat for good with eight minutes left in the contest and give way for many Lakers to make the first appearance of their young careers. Five freshman entered the contest in total, with three scoring their first career points. DeBoer would finish the game with 11 points (3-4 FG, 4-4 FT), while 6-4 center Cassidy Boensch corralled seven rebounds, scored four points and blocked two shots in 13 minutes of play. The Lakers outscored the Hawks 19-13 in the final quarter, and increased the lead to a game high 41 on a free throw by freshman Megan Belke with 1:24 left in the game before coasting to an 83-45 final.
 
The Lakers abused the Hawks down low, finishing with a glaring advantage in points in the paint (40-14) and finishing +15 in rebounds (41-26). In addition to holding Quincy to just 32.7 percent (17-52) from the field, the Lakers forced 19 turnovers and scored 30 points off of those turnovers.
 
Next up for the Lakers is a matchup with Truman State on Sunday, following their Saturday evening matchup with Northern Michigan. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m. at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Michigan.