at Wisconsin-Parkside (Thursday, Nov. 29 – 6:30 PM)
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at Purdue Northwest (Saturday, Dec. 1 – 4:00 PM)
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The #16 Grand Valley State women's basketball team is prepped for their first GLIAC action of the season this weekend as they are set to travel to Wisconsin-Parkside on Thursday (Nov. 29) for a 6:30 PM contest before heading to Purdue Northwest on Saturday (Dec. 1) for a 4:00 PM tipoff. GVSU will enter the weekend with a 4-1 record overall after victories over Maryville, Missouri-St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Concordia-Ann Arbor, with their lone loss coming to #25 Lewis.
The Parkside Rangers currently own a 1-3 record and are one a three-game skid while the Purdue Northwest Pride are 2-3 and most recently took down Illinois Springfield. The Pride will face Davenport on Thursday (Nov. 29) before hosting the Lakers on Saturday (Dec. 1).
GVSU defended their home court last Saturday (Nov. 24) with an 86-42 rout of NAIA opponent Concordia-Ann Arbor. Junior center
Cassidy Boensch recorded her third double double of the season in just two quarters before winding up with 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. Junior guard
Jenn DeBoer tallied her fifth straight game of double-digit points and is averaging 16.8 per game heading into this weekend's contests. Both Boensch (20.6) and DeBoer (16.8) rank inside the top-five in the conference in scoring.
Starting forward
Maddie Dailey is now averaging 9.6 points and 5.0 rebounds to go along with six blocks and three steals while fellow starter
Victoria Hedemark is leading the team with 12 steals and ranks second in the league in three point percentage at a 62.5% clip. Hedemark trails her own teammate in that department, as
Taya Andrews has connected on six of her eight three's (.750) to start the season.
As a team, the Lakers are pouring in 78.6 points per game while giving up just 56.2 in their first five contests, both of which are second in the league. Their offensive success has come on the heels of efficient shooting (47.4%) and the ability to draw fouls and get to the free throw line. Their 22.2 free throw attempts per game has translated into nearly 16 points from the charity stripe in each contest. Defensively, teams have been settling for mid-range jumpers and low-percentage shots as the Lakers are the top blocking team (5.2 per game) and the top three-point defending team (23.4%) in the conference.
The Laker defense will be tested against the Rangers, specifically against league-leading scorer Ali Bettencourt. A fifth-year player, Bettencourt is pouring in an impressive 20.7 points per game on 39.6% shooting while also pulling down a team-best 7.0 rebounds. The Rangers, who are scoring 69.8 points per game, have a couple other viable scoring options as Blair Arthur and Carolina Rahkonen are scoring 12.0 and 11.0 points a game, respectively.
The Ranger defense has limited their first few opponents to 77.0 points per game, which is nearly two points less than the Lakers have averaged so far, but is second to last in the conference. Opponents are also shooting nearly 45% from the field against the Rangers so expect the Lakers to either match or surpass their season average.
Purdue Northwest ranks near the bottom of the league in most offensive and defensive categories. Their 65.4 points per game is eighth while their defense is giving up a league-high 77.2 points. Where the Pride have won their games is in their rebounding ability. Their 41.4 rebounds per contest is third in the league and they rarely give opposing teams second chance points as they are nabbing 28.4 boards on defense.
Shae Rhonehouse and Brittany Barnard are averaging 11.0 and 10.2 points per game to lead their squad while Molly DeValkenaere is averaging nearly eight rebounds a game.
