at Lake Erie (5-8, 3-4 GLIAC)
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
Radio: WTKG 1230 AM
Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes

PAINESVILLE, Oh.—The #21 Grand Valley State women's basketball team makes a return to action this weekend with a road contest at GLIAC opponent Lake Erie College. At 9-3 overall and 4-2 in GLIAC play, the Lakers are third in the GLIAC North Standings as they head into the Saturday afternoon matchup with the Storm (5-8, 3-4 GLIAC).
 
The matchup can be followed via the links above. The Lakers will be broadcast on WKTG-1230 AM, with sixth year play-by-play  announcer DJ Foster calling the action.
 
GVSU comes into the opening matchup of the 2017 season riding an 82-53 win on Dec. 31^st against Wisconsin-Parkside, the first of four straight road matchups for the Lakers which continues with Saturday's contest against the Storm. In the victory on New Years Eve, the Lakers made quick work of a struggling Wisconsin-Parkside squad, jumping out to a 14-2 lead early in the first quarter and never looking back. Three Lakers scored in double figures, led by 11 points from freshman Jenn DeBoer, tying her career high. Classmate Cassidy Boensch and senior Taylor Lutz each chipped in 10 points, as the Lakers shot 48 percent (29-60) from the field as a team.
 
Against the Rangers, the Lakers hauled down a season-high 50 rebounds, and outrebounded their fourth straight opponent. Sitting solidly in the middle of the pack in the GLIAC in rebounding (9^th, 36.8 rpg), the Lakers have been above that average in each of the past four games, including a 39-33 advantage on the boards over #1 Ashland, ranked second in the GLIAC in rebounds per game, with 42.3. This season, the Lakers are 4-1 in games in which they have outrebounded opponents, and 4-2 in games in which they have been outrebounded.
 
Looking to start 2017 off with a win means feeding off the momentum from winning three of their final four games of 2016, including a come from behind victory over Waslh on the road, a rout of Tiffin at home and a hard fought loss to #1 Ashland at home before the Wisconsin-Parkside win. The Storm are 5-8 on the season, with a recent upswing involving wins in three of their last four games as well. Two road GLIAC wins at Lake Superior State and in overtime over Northwood led the Storm into a New Years Eve contest at Daeman, which they dropped 73-59. Most recently, the Storm handily defeated Ferris State 79-63 at home on January 5^th to open the new year with a win.
 
Junior guard Kayla Gabor is having another strong season for the Storm, averaging 20.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest. In Wednesday's victory over Ferris State, Gabor poured in a career-high 33 points on 12-21 shooting (5-6 3-Pt.) to lift the Storm to the victory. Gabor recently joined the 1,000 point career scorers list at Lake Erie, becoming the ninth player to do so. Her 20.6 points per game leads the GLIAC, and she is eighth in rebounds per game.  Teammate Christine Dawson is the only other member of the Storm in double figures, scoring 14.0 points and collecting 6.8 rebounds per game.
 
GVSU and Lake Erie come into Saturday's matchup nearly equal in scoring offense, with the Lakers (68.5) holding a slight margin over the Storm (67.8).  Scoring defense is a completely different story, as the Lakers boast a conference best 54.1 points allowed per game, while Lake Erie is third to last in the conference in scoring defense, surrendering 72.4 points per game. Nine of Grand Valley State's twelve opponents this season have not eclipsed 55 points, and six were held below 50 points in the contest. Opponents have had a difficult time hitting shots against the Lakers, shooting at a 36.8 percent clip form the field and just 30.1 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Offensively, the Lakers have performed pretty well despite the near complete absence of the three-point arsenal they commanded last season. Hitting at just a 29.5 percent clip from deep this season, the Lakers have had to pick up the slack with more baskets from the field (42 percent) and the free throw line, where they hold a +60 mark on opponents this season. Winger Bailey Cairnduff has assumed the mantle of the team's leading scorer, notching 11.0 points per contest and hitting a team-high 25 three-pointers. Kayla Dawson, GVSU's leading scorer from last season, is averaging 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and two steals per game, and posted a season-high 21 points in a win earlier this season against Findlay. GVSU's three other starters, Piper Tucker, Janae Langs and Taylor Lutz each average less than ten points a game so far this season but are multi-category contributors for the Lakers and each has the ability to be the team's leading scorer on any given night.
 
Saturday's game against Lake Erie is the second game of a four-game road slate for GVSU, which will next return to GVSU Fieldhouse Arena on January 19^th for a game against Wayne State University.