vs. Davenport (Saturday, Jan. 26 - 1:00 PM)
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The No. 15 Grand Valley State women's basketball team will make the short trip to Caledonia, Mich. this Saturday (Jan. 26) for a 1:00 PM matchup with the Davenport Panthers in their lone contest of the weekend. The Lakers are fresh off of their long trip to the Upper Peninsula where they took down Michigan Tech, 53-35, before falling to Northern Michigan, 56-43. They are now 16-2 overall and 9-1 in conference play. 
 
It's now a tight race for the top spot on the GLIAC leaderboard as the Lakers, Northern Michigan Wildcats, and Ashland Eagles are all 9-1 in the league. The Michigan Tech Huskies are behind the Wildcats in the North Division standings at 7-3, while the Lakers and Eagles are tied for the top spot in the South. The Lakers will have a chance to create some space all by themselves however, as they face all three of those teams again by the end of the season. 
 
Junior guard Jenn DeBoer was the saving grace on offense for the Lakers in their low-scoring victory over the Huskies last week when she supplied 27 of the teams' 53 total points on 11-of-19 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. She remains second on the team in scoring this season at 15.5 ppg while she leads in assists (72) and three-point percentage (39-of-107, 36.4%) and remains one of the top free throw shooters in the nation with a 90.0% clip (36-for-40). 
 
DeBoer's performance wasn't the only memorable one of the afternoon however. Junior center Cassidy Boensch became the first Laker since Karrie Williams during the 1990 season to record 21 rebounds when she completed the feat to help GVSU to the victory. She also added 12 points to record her 13th double double of the season which is the second most in the country. 
 
Boensch is now averaging 19.4 points and 12.2 rebounds and is also one of the top shot-blockers in the nation with 56 rejections. Not only is she an elite shot-blocker herself, but the Lakers rank first in Division II in total shots blocked with 103 rejections this season (5.7 per game) as 11 different Lakers have recorded the stat, including 19 from Maddie Dailey. 
 
Despite their impressive numbers so far this season, the Lakers suffered their second loss of the season to a talented Northern Michigan squad that held them to just 43 points, over 30 points below their season average (74.2). It was also the first time all season the Lakers failed to hold a lead at some point as they couldn't get anything going offensively. The Lakers will have a chance to avenge the loss when they host the Wildcats on Feb. 21 however. 
 
Looking towards this weekend's matchup, the Lakers will face a Davenport squad that is 5-12 overall and 3-7 in conference action. They currently rank ninth in the league with 62.1 points per game and eighth in points per game allowed at 69.6. What the Panthers excel at is getting to the free throw line for some easy points. They are the top team in the conference in free throw attempts per game and are second in free throws made per game, knocking down 13.3 freebies a night. 
 
Leading the way offensively for DU is Jenna Falkenberg and Toni Grace, who are averaging 13.9 and 11.2 points per game, respectively. Falkenberg is shooting an efficient 52.2% from the field and is also the team's leading rebounder with 9.3 boards per game as the Panthers force down low. Grace can score around the basket as well but has also sunk the second most three's (14) on the team and has also swiped 19 steals. Amanda Merz is the squad's catalyzer on the offense end, easily leading the assist column with 70 helpers on the season, with Martyna Pioro behind her with 40. 
 
Following GV's trip to Davenport they will end their five-game road stretch with contests at Wayne State (Thursday, Jan. 31 – 5:30 PM) and Ashland (Saturday, Feb. 2 – 1:00 PM).