Box Score The No. 10 GVSU women's basketball team earned their 11th straight victory to move to 13-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play after defeating the Lake Superior State Lakers, 71-50, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 5). LSSU falls to 5-8 overall and 0-6 in GLIAC play.
The Lakers return to Allendale next weekend as they are slated to host Saginaw Valley State on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 6:00 PM before another 6:00 PM start against Northwood on Saturday, Jan. 12.
GVSU's vaunted defense was on full display yet again as they held their rival Lakers to just 37.3% (19-of-51) shooting from the field and an even more impressive 25.0% (7-of-28) from beyond the arc. The Lakers also forced LSSU into 19 turnovers while nabbing 11 steals which led to an uneven 23-10 margin in points off of turnovers for GVSU.
The Lakers once again dominated the paint, outscoring Lake State 36-22 down low while winning the rebounding battle 33-21. Much of that success came from junior center
Cassidy Boensch who recorded 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting (7-of-10 FT) and pulled down seven rebounds to go along with two blocks.
Starting guards
Jenn DeBoer and
Victoria Hedemark each tallied 14 points in the contest while DeBoer chipped in seven rebounds, four steals, and an assist while Hedemark swiped a game-high six steals to go with her four rebounds. Both
Taya Andrews and
Maddie Dailey added six points apiece with Andrews nailing her only two three-point attempts while Dailey was an efficient 2-for-3 shooting.
A pair of free throws from Hedemark would tie the game at two after LSSU opened the scoring with a layup before a 9-2 run by GVSU over the next four minutes would give them the early 11-4 lead. The Laker lead would float between five and nine points over the final five minutes of the quarter before LSSU drilled a three with just 0:34 seconds to go to cut the lead to five, 20-15, heading into the second.
GVSU would quickly grab another double digit lead after a
Natalie Koenig triple found the bottom of the net with 8:47 on the clock in the second to put the Lakers up 25-15. After LSSU cut the lead back down to six, DeBoer hit back to back three's, the second coming after a
Jenai LaPorte block, rebound, and eventual assist, to give GVSU the 37-25 lead with 4:19 to go. Both teams would tally just one more bucket over the final four minutes as the Lakers would take the 39-27 lead into the break.
The third quarter would be a big one for GVSU, as they would outscore LSSU 20-11 to open up a comfortable lead heading into the final quarter. Hedemark opened the scoring with a pair of free throws that would spark a 12-5 run by the Lakers to put them up 51-32 at the halfway point. The Lakers would nab their first 20-point lead thanks to a Hedemark layup with a minute to go before DeBoer closed out the scoring with a jumper as the Lakers took the 59-38 lead into the fourth.
The final quarter would turn out to be the lowest scoring as the teams would combine for just 24 points, 12 each, as GVSU would cruise to their 11th straight win.
Anja Smith would score four points in under a minute in the sixth minute of the quarter, which would turn out to be the final Laker points the rest of the way as LSSU would end the game on an inconsequential 7-0 run.
Again, the Lakers will be back in action next Thursday and Saturday (Jan. 10 & 12) as they host SVSU and Northwood inside GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.
