HOUGHTON,Mich.—Saturday's road contest with Michigan Tech started off well for the Grand Valley State women's basketball team. An atypically bad shooting performance and a pesky Huskies squad turned the tide, however, and spoiled the visiting Lakers attempt to earn their first victory in Houghton since 2007. Kayla Dawson led the Lakers (17-6, 12-5 GLIAC) with 20 points on 6-13 shooting from the field (8-8 FT), while Piper Tucker added 11 points.
 
The Lakers scored the first two buckets of the game to take an early 5-0 lead, then pushed it to 11-6 off of a Bailey Cairnduff layup with five minutes left in the first quarter. The Lakers would end the first quarter with a slight edge, 15-14, as Taylor Parmley's layup pushed them past the home squad. 
 
The second quarter, however, would see the Lakers miss twelve shots and be outscored by the Huskiers, 15-10. Grand Valley would actually score the first five points of the quarter, as another Parmley  layup was followed by a Kayla Dawson three point play to get the Laker lead to six, 20-14. Unfortunately, the Lakers would make just two more shots over the final eight minutes of the first half to give up the lead at the break to the Huskies, 29-25.
 
To begin the third quarter, both teams sank their first basket coming out of the break. The Lakers got a triple from Piper Tucker to cut the lead to 29-28, before it was answered by a Tech layup on the other end. The teams then traded baskets for a bit, as the Huskies twice extended their lead to six points, first at the 7:20 minute mark, and then again less than a minute later at 6:39, answering another Tucker triple with one of their own. By the time a pair of Kylie Moxley free throws got the Huskies back on top by four (51-47) to end the third quarter, the teams had both managed 22 points in the third quarter, and the game was still within reach entering the final frame.
 
The fourth quarter was drastically different than the quarter preceding it, as the two teams would combine to score just 14 points. After a Kerry Gardner layup gave the Huskies a 55-49 lead with just under three minutes left in the quarter, the Lakers would get a pair of free throws each from Parmley and Dawson on consecutive possessions, drawing them within two points. After holding the Huskies scoreless on a three straight possessions, Janae Langs would hit a layup to even the score at 55 points with just six seconds left in the game. After a Michigan Tech timeout, Danielle Blake would make a layup with just one second left in the game, giving the Huskies the victory in the low scoring affair.
 
The loss marks the first time this season in which the Lakers were held below 60 points in  a game. Grand Valley shot just 34 percent (17-50) from the field and made just 4-12 attempts beyond the arc in the game, the second straight game in which they score under their average from three point range (9.7 threes per game). The Lakers were narrowly outrebounded, 35-34, but held the edge in turnovers committed (11-13) and points scored in the paint, 18-14.
 
GVSU returns to action on Thursday, February 11^th, with a home tilt against Lake Superior State University at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Michigan. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.