vs. Saginaw Valley State (Saturday, 2:00 p.m.): Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
With a terrific road win on Tuesday night (Mar. 1) in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals, the Grand Valley State women's basketball team earned a berth in the conference semifinals on Saturday afternoon (Mar. 5). The Lakers will take on North Division rival Saginaw Valley State for the third time this season in a game that is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff.
 
The third Battle of the Valleys contest in 2015-16 is the second semifinal game on Saturday, following the matchup between top-seeded Ashland and fourth-seed Walsh, the only team that has defeated the 28-1 Eagles this season. While Saginaw Valley State is the tournament's second-seed, the sixth-seeded Lakers are the only lower seed team that won their opening round game.
 
GVSU brings a 21-8 record into Saturday's semifinal, while Saginaw Valley State is 21-7 on the season. The Cardinals finished the regular season with a 17-5 GLIAC record and share the North Division championship with Michigan Tech, while the Lakers went 15-7 in conference play.
 
There are links above to watch the free online webcast (provided by Ashland) or listen to the radio broadcast of the game, as well as a link to follow the live stats. The game will be aired on WTKG-AM 1230, with fifth year GVSU play-by-play announcer DJ Foster calling the action.
 
Grand Valley State advanced to the tournament semifinals for the second straight year with its best road victory of the season. The Lakers went on the road to Houghton and defeated the third-seeded Michigan Tech Huskies by a 65-63 final in overtime. Junior guard Janae Langs drained a game-winning three-pointer with three seconds remaining in the extra session to notch the victory.
 
It was the first time GVSU defeated Michigan Tech on its home floor since Feb. 14, 2007 in a 65-42 win, when current Lakers head coach Mike Williams was an assistant coach on Dawn Plitzuweit's staff. Coincidentally, Grand Valley State's 21 wins this season are the most since that 2006-07 team finished with a 21-8 tally, one season after winning the Division II National Championship.
 
Junior guard Bailey Cairnduff knocked down 5-of-6 three-point tries on Tuesday night to tie game-high scoring honors with 18 points. Classmate Kayla Dawson added 16 points, five rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals, while another junior - forward Piper Tucker - supplied 11 points, 11 rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Grand Valley State (41.1 percent) outshot Michigan Tech (39.3) and the Lakers shot an effective 8-of-15 from three-point range. Even on MTU's home floor, GVSU outscored the Huskies at the free throw line, 11-8. The Lakers took care of the ball pretty well, turning it over just 11 times and forcing 12 Husky turnovers.
 
The victory at Michigan Tech was GVSU's third straight win, as the Lakers last loss was a 75-71 defeat at home to Saginaw Valley State on Feb. 18. In fact, both of SVSU's wins over Grand Valley State were close victories; the Cardinals also have a 68-65 win on their home floor over the Lakers on Jan. 28.
 
GVSU remains the top defensive team in the GLIAC, allowing just 56.4 points per game and a 38.5 opponents field goal percentage. Opponents also shoot just 30.2 percent from beyond the arc, the fourth-lowest mark in the league. Saginaw Valley State ranks fifth, fifth, and third in the same defensive categories.
 
Offensively, the Lakers rank first in the conference in all of the three-point categories: makes (9.5), attempts (24.8), and percentage (38.2). Contrastingly, SVSU is 14th in both made and attempted trifectas, but leads the GLIAC in free throws made (15.3), second in attempts (19.5), and third in percentage (78.2).
 
Saginaw Valley State's Emily Wendling leads the GLIAC in scoring (19.0), while the junior forward is fourth in rebounds per game (9.4), field goal percentage (55.7), and free throw percentage (85.5). Her 29 blocks is 11th-most in the league. She has scored in double-digits in 28 of 29 games this season, with 14 games of at least 20 points. Wendling has scored 13 and 20 points in the two games against GVSU this season.
 
Junior guard Katelyn Carriere is scoring 12.2 points per game, shoots 83.5 percent at the line, and has made 44 three-pointers, but is second in the GLIAC with 85 turnovers. Freshman forward Halee Nieman averages 11.2 points per game, has made the sixth-most free throws (91) of any player, and has recorded 52 steals, 11th-most in the conference.
 
The winners of the two Saturday semifinals will play in Sunday's GLIAC Championship game at 1:30 p.m.