vs. Truman – NCAA Midwest Region Quarterfinals (12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST)
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The No. 3-seed Grand Valley State women's basketball team is set for NCAA postseason play as they face No. 6-seed Truman in the Midwest Regional Quarterfinals tomorrow afternoon (12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST) at O'Reilley Family Events Center on the Campus of Drury University in Springfield, Mo. GVSU enters the weekend with a 27-3 overall record while the Bulldogs sport a 23-7 mark this season.
For just the third time this season the Lakers are coming off of a loss but have used the previous setbacks as fuel for major comebacks. Following their first loss of the season to now No. 2-seed Lewis, the Lakers rattled off 14-straight wins, winning six of those games by 20+ points. Their second loss was followed by 11-straight wins as they scored at least 70 points in 10 of those contests. Those stretches helped the Lakers create one of the best scoring margins in the country, as they are winning by an average of 22.1 points per contest, which is the fifth-best nationally. Their defense is fourth in DII, allowing just 51.7 points per game, while their offense is averaging 73.9 on the other end.
Juniors
Cassidy Boensch and
Jenn DeBoer are fresh off of Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) awards, as Boensch was named First Team All-Midwest Region while DeBoer took home second team honors. As the Lakers presence in the paint, Boensch is averaing a team-best 20.0 points and 11.9 rebounds as she has recorded 21 double doubles this season. She also set a new program record with 94 blocks this season alone, and is shooting nearly 60% from the field and 80% from the free throw line.
DeBoer leads the team with 110 total assists this season as the Lakers point guard and is also second on the squad with 14.1 points per game. She's also shooting a touch over 45% from the field and has become one of the most automatic free throw shooters in the nation, hitting at an 89.1% clip.
Junior
Maddie Dailey is the Lakers other scorer in double digits, as she's averaging 10.5 points per game to go with 5.4 rebounds and 30 total blocks. An All-GLIAC Second Team and All-GLIAC Defensive Team honoree, Dailey has been a premier defender for the Lakers this season, often shutting down the opposing offenses best scoring options. Another headache for opposing offense is All-GLIAC Defensive Team honoree
Victoria Hedemark. Her 68 steals this season leads the team while she also has 10 blocks and is scoring 7.3 points on the other end as a do-it-all player for the Lakers.
All-GLIAC Second Team performer
Natalie Koenig rounds out the predictable starting five for the Lakers. She's fourth on the team with 7.8 points per game and 97 assists while also nabbing 46 steals.
Taya Andrews and
Jenai LaPorte have also become huge pieces to GVSU's success as the go-to substitutions early in the game. Andrews provides an offensive spark off the bench as she's knocking down 45% of her three-point attempts while LaPorte controls the offense at point where she's dished out 17 assists and scored 52 points.
The Bulldogs offense is averaging 72.8 points per game and is led by a trio of double-digit scorers. Sloanne Totta leads the way with 11.6 points per game while Rachel Edmundson and Brooke Bailey aren't far behind at 10.8 points per game apiece. Katie Jaseckas is just under the 10-point mark but is still scoring 9.1 points a game as well.
Maddie Re averaged a team-best 7.1 boards per night while Jaseckas pulls down 5.8 and Mackenzie Bray is at 4.4.
On the other end, the Bulldogs are allowing 66.0 points to opposing offenses and have combined for 189 steals and 75 blocks this season.
The winner of Friday afternoons quarterfinal will face the winner of #2-seed Lewis and #7-seed Walsh on Saturday, Mar. 16 at 5:00 PM in the semifinal round.
