vs. Ferris State (Saturday, Jan. 20 – 6:00 PM)
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The Grand Valley State women's basketball team is set to host GLIAC rival Ferris State in a Saturday night (Jan. 20) matchup inside GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The Lakers most recently took down Lake Superior State in an 80-40 rout at the DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Thursday night (Jan. 18) to improve to 15-3 overall and 8-2 in conference play. GVSU is currently tied with Michigan Tech for first place in the GLIAC North Division as well as second place overall as both teams trail the Ashland Eagles (18-0, 10-0 GLIAC). The Bulldogs will enter the contest as winners of their last two games, which improved them to 10-8 overall and 4-6 in the GLIAC.
In the latest WBCA Coaches Poll, released on Jan. 16, the Lakers were just outside of the top-25 and were one of just a few teams who received votes in the most recent polling.
The Lakers will enter the contest with the Bulldogs as winners of two straight games and eight of their last nine, with their lone loss coming to #1 ranked Ashland back on Jan. 11. Much of the Lakers success can be attributed to the recent hot streak of sophomore
Cassidy Boensch, who is averaging just over 13 points a game in the team's last eight contests. Boensch has tallied double digit points in seven of the last eight games after having only scored 10+ points twice in the team's first ten games. On the season, the sophomore is averaging 9.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and leads the team with 31 blocks in just over 16 minutes a game.
After going on what can only be called a slight slump the last three games, junior
Natalie Koenig exploded for a career-high 22 points in the Lakers victory over Lake Superior State in an impressive 7-8 shooting performance, including going 4-4 from beyond the arc. On the season, the Lakers have four different players averaging double-digits including Koenig,
Jenn DeBoer,
Taylor Parmley, and
Korynn Hincka. The Lakers have the advantage of having a bevy of different players who can go off at any given time, as evidenced by the fact that eight different Lakers have scored 10+ points this season while six of those eight have gone for 15+ points.
To go along with their impressive offensive performances, the Lakers boast the best defensive team in the GLIAC in terms of opponent's points per game. GVSU is only giving up 56.8 points per game this season, which ranks first in the GLIAC, and have held their last two opponent's to just 40 points apiece. In their last nine games, the Lakers have only allowed one opponent to score more than 60 points and the opposition is only averaging 53.2 ppg in that span. The lone team to score more than 60 against the defensive juggernaut was #1 ranked Ashland who scored 83 points, which is almost 20 points lower than their season average.
The stout Laker defense will be tested against the Ferris State Bulldogs on Saturday however, as they boast the second best scoring offense in the GLIAC after averaging 80.4 ppg in their first 18 games this season. The FSU lineup boasts three players who are averaging at least 10 points a game, led by Rachel McInerney at 16.7 ppg who is followed by Riley Blair (10.4 ppg) and Kelsey Wyman (10.0 ppg). McInerney likes to get most of her work done down near the basket where she is shooting 50.6% this season to go along with her 10.1 rebounds per game, which ranks first in the GLIAC. Bush and Wyman are the Bulldogs threats from deep, as they have hit 25-76 and 18-52 3-pointers, respectively.
Following Saturday's matchup, the Lakers will have a week off to rest and recover as their next game won't be until next Saturday (Jan. 27) in a 3:00 PM contest against Purdue Northwest inside GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.
