vs. Rochester (Friday, 6:00 p.m.)
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ALLENDALE, Mich.—After opening the season at home in the 2016 GLIAC/GLVC Challenge at home, the Grand Valley State women's basketball team will return to action on Friday, November 18^th against Rochester College. The game follows an opening weekend split for the Lakers (1-1) as they defeated Quincy in the opener before losing to Truman State on Sunday.
 
Friday's game is the last of a three-game home stand to open the season for GVSU, who will travel to Puerto Rico next weekend to play Indianapolis and defending national champions Lubbock Christian.
 
Now the Lakers welcome  NAIA opponent Rochester (MI) College to the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena for a matchup between two .500 teams looking to build some momentum with a win. The Warriors have already played 10 games this season and are 5-5 in those games, having suffered three straight losses. GVSU will be facing the Warriors for the ninth time in program history, having won all eight previous matchups. Maddy Valko leads Rochester in scoring with 13.8 points per game on 39.5 percent shooting, while Allyssa Copley has averaged 7.1 rebounds and 2 blocks per game in the post.
 
The Lakers began the season with an 83-45 rout of the Hawks, who they dropped a 62-60 decision to last season, by shooting 49 percent (30-61) from the field. In that game, three Lakers finished in double figures, led by Bailey Cairnduff with 15 points.
 
The Lakers next game was a dropped decision at home to Truman State last Sunday, as the Lakers found themselves trailing at the half after shooting 1-11 from beyond the arc. After making a valiant effort to storm back into the game in the third quarter, the Lakers rally fell short as the team dropped a 74-69 decision despite a double-double (21 pts/10 rbs) from Janae Langs.
 
Langs has been the team's early star, averaging a team high 13 points and 8.5 rebounds per game despite standing just 5'4". She has connected on 10-18 (.556) shots this season as she picks up right where she left off last season, when she ramped up her scoring and even garnered a Midwest Regional Tournament Most Outstanding Player award. She has also been the team's most successful distributor, having dished out a team-high nine assists through the two games.
 
Several of those assists have likely gone to winger Bailey Cairnduff, who is second on the team in scoring with 11.0 points per game. After hitting 70 three-point baskets for the Lakers last season, Cairnduff leads the Lakers with four makes from deep even while the team has struggled to find their deep shooting touch. As a team, Grand Valley State is shooting just 25 percent (13-52) from beyond the arc in the early going, a far cry from the 37 percent they shot last season en route to a program record 325 treys.
 
A key reserve off the bench for the Lakers, redshirt-sophomore Taylor Parmley is averaging 12.0 points and seven rebounds per game to open the season, due in large part to her drastically improved free-throw shooting (11-13, .846) up from 66 percent at the stripe last season. As a team, the Lakers have hit 84 percent of their attempts at the charity stripe through two games, an improved mark from last season. 
 
After facing the Warriors on Friday, the Lakers will depart for Puerto Rico to play their next two games on the road at a neutral site (Nov. 25-26).