The No. 9 GVSU Lakers earned a 64-46 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) victory over rival Saginaw Valley State on Thursday night (Jan. 10) behind junior center Cassidy Boensch's 32-point, 10-rebound performance. The victory pushes the Lakers to 14-1 overall and 7-0 in conference play while they extend their winning streak to 12-straight games. GVSU is also 10-0 inside the friendly confines of GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.
 
GVSU will be back in action inside GVSU Fieldhouse Arena this Saturday, Jan. 12 as they are scheduled to host the Northwood Timberwolves (7-8, 4-3 GLIAC) in another GLIAC showdown at 6:00 PM.   
 
While the Lakers shot an uncharacteristic 2-of-19 from deep, they more than made up for it in the paint where they outscored the Cardinals 42-14. GVSU also won the rebounding battle, 36-26, and forced SVSU into 18 turnovers resulting in 15 points. Four of the Lakers' 10 steals came from starting guard Natalie Koenig, as she helped force SVSU into 18 turnovers in the contest compared to GVSU's 13. 
 
Boensch recorded her 11th double double of the season and was the lone Laker to score in double digit points for the first time this season. Junior forward Maddie Dailey was 4-of-6 from the field for eight points while guard Jenn DeBoer added six and Victoria Hedemark and Koenig chipped in five apiece as well. 
 
After the Cardinals went up by two to start the contest after and early Laker foul, Boensch immediately went to work to the tune of 12-straight points that included back to back and-1's to give the Lakers the early 12-2 lead. The Lakers capped off a 14-point run with an Anja Smith jumper before the Cardinals finally got back on the board for the first time in nearly six minutes thanks to a jumper from Aaliah Hill. By the end of the quarter the Lakers held on to a 15-point lead, 22-7. 
 
Koenig opened up the second with a triple before Boensch went back to work for back to back layups to push the lead to 22, 29-7. A quick three and jumper from the Cardinals brough the score to 29-12 before a Boensch free throw would start a nearly two-minute dry spell for both squads. After trading buckets in the final two minutes, Jenn DeBoer raced down the floor on an inbounds pass and beat the defenders to the basket for a buzzer-beating layup to end the half and give the Lakers the even 20-point lead, 36-16. 
 
SVSU made some halftime adjustments and came out giving the Lakers fits, as they used a seven-point run over the first two and a half minutes to cut the lead to 13, 36-23. Dailey finally broke through for the Lakers at the 7:24 mark but SVSU stayed persistent and kept it within striking distance through the middle of the third. With 4:58 to go however, the Lakers used a six-point run of their own to push the lead back to 20 thanks to layups from Boensch and DeBoer and a triple from Hedemark. By the time the clocks hit zero in the second to last quarter, GVSU's lead was a comfortable 17 points, 52-35. 
 
The teams would score a combined 23 points in the final stanza as the Lakers were able to use their comfortable lead to coast to their 14th win of the season. The Lakers lead would only get as low as 15 points the rest of the way and a Kiri Tiemeyer jumper with a minute left would cap off the Lakers night on offense as they watched the clocks hit zero with a 64-46 final score. 
 
Again, the Lakers will be back in action this Saturday (Jan. 12) as they host the Northwood Timberwolves in another GLIAC contest. Tipoff is set for 6:00 PM.