vs Wayne State (6-10, 3-6 GLIAC)
Thursday, 6:00 p.m.
Radio: WTKG 1230 AM
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vs Saginaw Valley State (12-3, 8-1 GLIAC)
Saturday, 12:00 p.m.
Radio: WTKG 1230 AM
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ALLENDALE, Mich.—It will have been a full month since the Grand Valley State women's basketball team last played at home when they host Wayne State at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena on Thursday. A four game road trip—and the holiday break—have taken place since the Dec.19^th matchup with Ashland, the team's most recent home game, and the Lakers have posted a 3-1 record since that point. A quick home jaunt against Wayne State on Thursday and GLIAC North leader Saginaw Valley State on Saturday await the 11-4 Lakers this week at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Michigan.
 
The games can be followed via the media links above. Each contest will be broadcast on WTKG 1230-AM, with sixth year play-by-play man DJ Foster providing the radio call for both contests.
 
Grand Valley State comes into the matchup sans ranking, having slipped from the WBCA's most recent poll after a 60-53 loss to Northwood last Thursday. GVSU, which had been ranked #21 in the national rankings, was unable to stay in the poll with a bounce-back victory against Lake Superior State on Saturday and currently sits unranked at 11-4 on the season.
 
The Lakers enters Thursday's matchup tied for eighth in the GLIAC in scoring per game (66.6 ppg). All five starters for the Lakers average seven points or above per game, but no Laker is currently averaging double-figures at the halfway point of the season. That hasn't deterred the Lakers much, as they have won with defense this season. Through fifteen games, the Lakers have held 11 of their opponents below 55 points this season, and are ranked in the top ten in Division II in scoring defense this season, allowing just 53.3 points per game. In Saturday's victory over Lake Superior State, GVSU held LSSU to just three first quarter points and just 12 by the halftime break on the way to an easy 74-46 win.
 
Wayne State (6-10, 3-6 GLIAC) travels to Allendale as losers of three of their last four contests, having avoided a fourth straight loss with a narrow two-point victory over Northern Michigan at home on Saturday as a Wildcat layup attempt to win the game was not converted. In games played on the road this season, Wayne State is winless in five contests and has been outscored 414-328 in those games.
 
So far, the Warriors have been led by the scoring of freshman Natassja Chambers, who leads the squad with 14.1 points per game, with fellow guard Shannon Wilson contributing 13.6 points per contest in support. While Wayne State sits at sixth in the GLIAC in scoring per contest with 67.3 points per game, the team's scoring has been trending down as of late, with declining point totals in each of their past four games, all of which have occurred in the new year. The Warriors convert on just 40.3 percent of attempts from the floor and 33.7 percent from beyond the arc, ranked 12^th and eighth in the GLIAC in those categories, respectively.
 
Sunday's opponent, Saginaw Valley State, finds themselves on the opposite end of the GLIAC North Division Standings from the Warriors. SVSU is the current division leader at 12-3 overall and 8-1 in GLIAC play. Picking up where they left off last season, GVSU's divisional counterpart has been a conference power yet again behind the efforts of 2015 GLIAC Player of the Year Emily Wendling. Wendling leads the Cardinals with 17.1 points, as the team has posted the conferences second best scoring offense (73.2 ppg) and team FG percentage (44.7). Saginaw's only conference loss came at the hands of No.1 Ashland, a 101-50 thrashing on Thursday, December 8^th. Since that point, the Cardinals have won six of seven, including five straight GLIAC wins.
 
Contrary to the Lakers, the Cardinals have shown a relative lack of appetite for 3-point shooting, preferring instead to work the ball inside to Wendling and their other post players for high percentage shots, as well as possibly earning free throw attempts. Behind Ashland, SVSU earns the highest amount of free throws in the conference, and is second in both made (266) and attempted (334) this season, while converting on 79.6 percent of attempts, also second-best in the GLIAC.
 
Defensively, the Cardinals are a ways off of GVSU's conference-best defensive mark, but have still found a way to be solid defensively, surrendering the 7^th least points per game (64.2) in the GLIAC, and being one of the better perimeter defending teams in the GLIAC, allowing just 29.5 percent shooting to opponents from beyond the arc.
 
 After this weekend's game, the Lakers will hit the road to travel to the Upper Peninsula for matchups with Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.