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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The #3 ranked Grand Valley State women's basketball team will play a pair of non-conference games in the Sunshine State this weekend to wrap up the 2019 calendar year. The Lakers will take on Ave Maria (NAIA) Friday (Dec. 20) at noon, before playing 2018-19 NCAA Tournament participant, Stonehill College, on Sunday (Dec. 22) at noon. Both games will be played at the Ocean Center, a convention center located in the heart of Daytona Beach.
 
Last Saturday, GVSU came out slow in the first quarter against Davenport, but flipped the switch and ran away with an 82-53 victory to improve to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play. The Lakers have matched their best start since the 2010-11 season and will look to win 10 straight games to open a season for the first time since the 2002-03 team began 14-0.
 
Senior center Cassidy Boensch has put together an impressive start to her final season in Allendale as she is averaging 20.2 points per game, 9.8 rebounds per game, 3.6 blocks per game, and is shooting 63.6% from the field. Boensch ranks top-two in the conference in each of those categories and is fifth in the nation in block shots per game. Senior forward Maddie Dailey leads the GLIAC and is also fifth in the country in field goal percentage with a 66.3% clip while averaging 15.6 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game. Senior guard Jenn DeBoer has been dishing out the basketball and keeping turnovers to a minimum which ranks her in the top-10 in the country in both assists per game (5.8) and assist/turnover ratio (2.89).
 
Ave Maria, who competes in the NAIA, boasts an 11-3 record this season and finished 21-9 a year ago, but did not qualify for national tournament play. The Gyrenes have won their last two games after dropping three straight games following a 9-0 start to the season. Ave Maria features three players scoring in double-figures with Sarah Miller averaging a team-high 16.7 points per game while shooting 58.5% from the floor.
 
Stonehill College failed to make the WBCA Preseason Top-25 poll, however a 4-1 start including a win over #17 ranked University of the Sciences, jumped the Skyhawks into the poll at #22. After the ranking, Stonehill has since gone 2-2 and dropped out of the poll. The Skyhawks' last time out was Dec. 7, a game in which they fell to their toughest competition of the season, #7 Saint Anselm College, 76-63. Sophomore guard Isabella Santoro leads Stonehill with 13.1 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game.
 
Both matchups will be the first meeting between each school and GVSU in women's basketball.
 
Following the two games in Florida, the Lakers will take 10 days off for the Christmas break before resuming play at Ferris State on Jan. 2.