vs. Davenport (Thursday, Feb. 27 - 6:00 PM)
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The No. 8 Grand Valley State Lakers (25-2, 18-1 GLIAC) will have a chance to be the outright winners of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Regular Season Title for the first time since the 2006-07 season. A win over Davenport (5-21, 3-16 GLIAC) this Thursday, Feb. 28 inside GVSU Fieldhouse Arena would guarantee the Lakers the top spot in the GLIAC while a loss would make them co-champions with the Ashland Eagles (25-2, 17-2 GLIAC). The contest will also serve as Senior Day as the last regular season game of the season. Natalie Koenig and Tara Lierman will be honored for their dedication to the program at halftime of the men's contest which begins at 8:00 PM. 
 
With the Eagles two losses coming at the hands of the Lakers, GVSU has already secured the No. 1 seed in the GLIAC Tournament and will host at least a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 5 with a win there bringing the final two rounds to Allendale as well. The semifinals are set to take place on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10 at the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinal rounds. As the standings sit right now, the Lakers are more than likely to host Wayne State in the quarterfinal on the 5th. 
 
The Lakers have pushed their current winning streak to nine games after this past weekend saw them play stellar defense and avenge a loss from earlier this season. On Thursday (Feb. 21) the Lakers were able to hold off a talented Northern Michigan team – who handed GVSU its lone conference loss back in January – in a defensive battle that saw just 87 combined points scored but the Lakers coming out on top, 50-37. Junior center Cassidy Boensch recorded her 18th double double of the season, leading the Lakers with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Five other Lakers scored but Boensch was the lone scorer in double digits as Maddie Dailey added nine, Taya Andrews six, Victoria Hedemark five, and Jenn DeBoer and Natalie Koenig with four each. 
 
While it wasn't the most impressive offensive performance, GVSU's defense stepped up in a big way, allowing the Wildcats to shoot just 14-of-52 (26.9%) from the field and 6-of-23 from beyond the arc (26.1%). NMU also coughed the ball up 11 times as the Lakers gathered nine steals. 
 
Against Michigan Tech two days later (Feb. 23), the Laker defense was still on point while they found a little more offense in their 75-46 victory. Koenig scored a game-high 20 points in front of 1,537 fans on the first annual Sawyer Days. Not far behind her was Andrews with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-7 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from deep. Boensch recorded another double double – her 19th of the season – with a 10-point, 12 rebound performance while Dailey chipped in 13 herself. 
 
Heading into this final regular season game, the Lakers are averaging 75.3 points on offense on 47.5% shooting from the field while giving up just 52.1 points on the defensive end. Boensch is leading the way individually with 20.1 points and 12.3 rebounds while DeBoer (14.6 points) and Dailey (10.1 points) are both in double figures as well. Victoria Hedemark has taken a team-high 63 steals so far and Boensch has become one of the top shot-blockers in the country with 90 rejections in her 27 games. 
 
The Panthers have been struggling in their second season in the GLIAC as of late, having dropped their last 11 games, all of which have been in conference play. As travel partners with the Lakers, they also played Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan last weekend, falling by scores of 72-53 and 64-42, respectively. 
 
Jenna Falkenberg is the Panthers force down low, scoring 14.5 points while pulling down 9.5 rebounds per game to go with her 55 blocks and 12 steals. Toni Grace is the other Panther averaging double digits for an offense that is averaging 60.4 points per game, as she's putting in 12.1 a night. Starters Amanda Merz and Martyna Pioro are averaging 7.2 and 6.2 points, respectively, as well. 
 
Again, the Lakers are already guaranteed to host a GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinal game, which will take place on Tuesday, March 5 inside GVSU Fieldhouse Arena at 7:00 PM against an opponent who is yet to be determined.