vs. Michigan Tech (17-6, 13-5 GLIAC)
Thursday, 6:00 p.m.
International Night
Radio: WTKG AM-1230 | Listen
Video: ESPN3 | Watch 
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
vs. Northern Michigan (16-9, 11-7 GLIAC)
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
Beach Day
Radio: WTKG-AM 1230 | Listen
Video: ESPN3 | Watch
Live Stats | Game Notes

ALLENDALE, Mich.— A pair of pivotal North Division matchups await the Grand Valley State women's basketball team in the final two-game weekend of the regular season. Fortunately for the Lakers, those games will be played in the friendly confines of GVSU Fieldhouse Arena, where the Lakers have had tremendous success all season in racking up a 10-2 record there. Thursday's game against Michigan Tech (17-6, 13-5 GLIAC) will settle the two-way tie for second place in the North Division between the Lakers and Huskies, while Saturday's game against fourth place Northern Michigan (16-9, 11-7 GLIAC) is also of vital importance.
 
Fans can follow along with the game action for both contests at the above links. The games will be streamed live on ESPN3 and can be viewed via WatchESPN and the ESPN App. Both games will be broadcast on WTKG 1230-AM, with sixth year play-by-play man DJ Foster calling all the action for both games. Saturday will also be Senior Day, as the senior class of Lindsay Baker, Bailey Cairnduff, Kayla Dawson, Janae Langs, Taylor Lutz, Piper Tucker and Keyara Wiard will be honored before the game for their accomplishments. 
 
Grand Valley State comes into the matchups at 18-6 overall (13-5 GLIAC), having won both games last weekend. GVSU avenged a loss to Northwood earlier this season with a 73-52 victory at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena, jumping out to a 15-0 lead early and never letting the Timberwolves back into the game. Senior Janae Langs led GVSU with 20 points and tied a career-high with 13 rebounds, becoming one of three Lakers to end the game in double-figures. While shooting 51 percent from the field themselves, GVSU held Northwood to just 31.4 percent shooting from the field, and limited star post player Jordyn Nurenburg to just four points and five rebounds by getting her in early foul trouble.
 
Being chased off the arc by Northwood, the Lakers moved away from the three-ball they've relied on in the past two seasons and got better looks elsewhere on the court, finishing 26-51 from the field while attempting just 10 total triples. The Lakers also took advantage of sloppy defense by the Timberwolves, drawing 24 fouls and hitting 17-23 attempts from the line. The victory avenged a 60-54 loss suffered in Midland earlier this season on January 12^th, in which the Timberwolves held the Laker offense in check in earning the victory.
 
GVSU has continued to improve defensively throughout the season, and is very narrowly in second place in Division II in team defense, allowing just 52.3 points per game. Eighteen of their 24 opponents haven't cracked the 55 point mark this season, and their highest total allowed—77 to Ohio Dominican—didn't even result in a loss. The Lakers simply don't allow their opponents many open looks, and have held teams to 36.4 percent shooting from the floor and 31.1 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, the Lakers are +126 in turnovers against their opponents this season, +77 in personal fouls and +66 in team steals, and have already tied last season's total for team blocks in 12 less games (76).
 
On offense, Janae Langs has been leading the show, showing her ability to score from anywhere on the floor, collecting her second double-double of the season and narrowly missing out on a third, and being involved in the majority of anything good that happens for GVSU. The guard plays much larger than her 5' 4" frame would suggest, and leads her team in points, assists and rebounds, while ranking second in steals and made triples as well. Her play in the past two games earned her GLIAC North Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Piper Tucker has also been doing a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor, averaging 10 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 triples per contest over her last six games.
 
Having made her sixth straight start since taking over for the injured Kayla Dawson, Taylor Parmley has continued to show comfort in her starting role, as she has averaged 14.1 points per game over the past six games and had scored in double digits in five of the six games. Winger Bailey Cairnduff continues to hit shots from deep for GVSU, and has tallied a team-high 46 makes to contribute to a 9.3 points per game average. Point guard Taylor Lutz has taken up the scoring mantle when needed, showing the confidence to take shots in the flow of the game and finding other Lakers for good looks when available.
 
Saturday's matchup was another rematch, as GVSU faced LSSU for the second time this season. After the visitors came out of the gate firing and took a 16-15 lead over GVSU at the end of the first quarter, GVSU's offense took off in the final three quarters. Outscoring the visitors in each stanza, the Lakers raced to a comfortable 78-50 win behind double-digit efforts from three starters, with Langs just missing out on a double-double (16 pts, 9 rebounds) to lead GVSU.
 
In winning the pair of games and improving to 18-6 on the season, the Lakers set the stage for a crucially important homestand to close out the regular season. In earlier contests with both their upper peninsula foes. The Lakers were defeated for the second year in a row on a last second winner by the Huskies, and dispatched the Wildcats two days later after some late heroics by Piper Tucker. Up by one point with 10 seconds remaining, the Wildcats simply needed to inbound the ball and run out the clock, but a steal by Tucker and two pairs of subsequent free throws led GVSU to a wild win in Marquette.
Those contests aside, prior history between the Lakers and both programs has historically been that of hard fought affairs, and the weekend's contests are shaping up to be par to the course. The Huskies feature four players that average double-digits this season, led by Morgan Anderson and her 15.9 points per contest. It was Anderson who sank the Lakers in the previous meeting of the teams this season, as she hit a baseline jumper with seconds left on the clock to dispatch GVSU. Ranking fourth in the GLIAC in points per game (68.6) the Huskies shoot 44.1 percent from the field (2^nd/GLIAC), 37.8 percent form deep (3^rd/GLIAC) and have been exceptional on defense as well, allowing the third lowest total to opponents per game of any GLIAC team (60.1).
 
Northern Michigan, meanwhile, has slipped to last place in the GLIAC in scoring (61.5 points per game), which suggests that they are a team easily beaten. That observation ignores the Wildcats defense, which is ranked second just behind the Lakers and is no laughing matter. NMU has allowed just 56.4 points per game this season and is holding opponents to just 37.6 percent shooting from the field. The Wildcats are third in the conference in blocks with 4.1 per game, and are sixth in the conference in total rebounding, with 37.5 per game.  Senior guard Bre Gaspervich has led her team in scoring this season with 12.4 points per contest, while teammate Darby Youngstrom is just behind at 12.3 points per game.
After this final weekend slate of home games, the Lakers will once again close out the regular season on the road at Ferris State, when they travel to face the Bulldogs on Saturday, February 23^rd.