vs. Northern Michigan (Thursday, Feb. 21 - 6:00 PM)
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vs. Michigan Tech (Saturday, Feb. 23 - 1:00 PM)
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The No. 11 Grand Valley State Lakers are preparing for a tough upcoming weekend as they are set to host Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech on Thursday, Feb. 21 and Saturday, Feb. 23, respectively. The two Upper Peninsula schools are currently tied for first in the GLIAC North Division at 14-3 apiece while the Lakers still maintain their hold on the top spot in the south with a 16-1 conference record.
As it stands now, the Lakers, Wildcats, Huskies, and Ashland Eagles have all clinched GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinal home games, which will take place on Tuesday, March 5 at times that are yet to be determined. The highest remaining seed will then host the semifinal and final rounds of the tournament so be on the lookout for final seedings on GVSULakers.com.
It will be a busy weekend at Grand Valley State as the game against NMU will serve as a Military Appreciation Day that features free tickets to Veterans with a Military I.D. and half off to their family. Saturday's contest against MTU will serve as the first ever Sawyer Day fauxback game. In a "what could have been" celebration, the GVSU teams will be wearing special Sawyers jerseys and shorts. There will also be a silent auction by the GVSU Irwin Club that will benefit all GVSU Athletic programs.
Since their loss to Northern Michigan back on Jan. 19, the Lakers have rattled off seven straight wins, including a couple of tough conference road victories last weekend over Saginaw Valley State (84-54) and Northwood (87-73). Against SVSU, junior center
Cassidy Boensch turned in one of the most dominating performances in program history when she exploded for 38 points, 23 rebounds, and four blocks. She's now averaging a team and conference-best 20.4 points and 12.3 rebounds.
Against the Timberwolves a day later, it was senior
Natalie Koenig and junior
Maddie Dailey leading the offensive charge, as they went off for 24 and 21 points, respectively. Boensch recorded a 17-point performance while junior's
Jenn DeBoer (11) and
Victoria Hedemark (10) were in double digits as well.
As a team, the Lakers are now averaging 76.3 points on the offensive end and are shooting 48.0% from the field which is the fifth best mark in the country. While their offense is certainly something to take notice of, their defense has been even better. They're allowing just 53.0 points – the eight highest mark nationally – which has led to an average margin of victory of 23.3 points – the fifth best nationally.
One of the eight teams the Lakers are trailing in points per game allowed however is Northern Michigan. The Wildcats allow just 51.1 points per game and are the lone team to hold the Lakers to fewer than 60 points offensively.
The Wildcats are currently on a five-game winning streak, having most recently taken down Ferris State in double overtime, 70-66, last Thursday (Feb. 14) before a 63-47 victory over Lake Superior State on Saturday (Feb. 16). Offensively, they are led by the duo of Lexi Smith and Darby Youngstrom who score 10.9 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Not far behind that pair is Jessica Schultz who contributes 9.2 points per game and is shooting nearly 50.0% from the field. Four Wildcats also average about five rebounds per game, led by Erin Honkala (5.6) who is followed by Schultz (5.4), Youngstrom (5.0), and Smith (4.9).
The Michigan Tech Huskies will come to Allendale looking to avenge a low-scoring loss to the Lakers that happened back on Jan. 17 when GVSU pulled away with a 53-35 victory. Since that loss however, MTU has gone on an eight-game winning streak that includes a couple of road victories last weekend over Lake Superior State and Ferris State.
Baillie McGirk (13.3), Abbie Botz (11.4), Elizabeth Kelliher (10.0), Ellie Mackay (10.0), and Cassidy Trotter (10.0) lead a Husky offense that is averaging 65.6 points per game and is shooting an efficient 43.7% from the field. Botz is also averaging 8.3 rebounds per contest while Kelliher is sitting at 6.0.
The Lakers will celebrate Senior Day next Thursday when they host Davenport in their final regular season home game. Tipoff is set for 1:00 PM and the seniors will be honored at halftime of the men's game, which is scheduled to tipoff at 3:00 PM.
