The No. 3-seed Grand Valley State women's basketball team will be spending the rest of the weekend in Springfield, Mo. as they earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Final after defeating the No. 2-seeded Lewis Flyers in the semifinal round, 72-55. The victory avenged a loss to the Flyers earlier this season and pushed GVSU to 29-3 on the year while the Flyers season comes to an end with a 27-5 mark. 
 
The Laker defense was lockdown all night long, holding the Lewis offense to just 34.8% from the field and 21.2% from beyond the arc, while forcing the Flyers into 15 turnovers as they swiped the ball five times during the game. Just two Flyers found double digits, as Tierney Lockett led the way with 12 while Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Player of the Year Jessica Kelliher added 10. 
 
Junior forward Maddie Dailey followed up her outstanding 21-point performance in yesterday's quarterfinal game with a game-high 20-points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 2-for-5 from deep, and pulled down five rebounds to go with two assists. 
 
Dailey wasn't the only one having a solid offensive night as four other Lakers wound up in double digits. Jenn DeBoer would shoot nearly 50% from the field as she tallied 13 while Taya Andrews was white hot from deep, knocking down all three of her triple attempts to go with six rebounds. Great Lakes Intercollegiate Player of the Year (GLIAC) Cassidy Boensch put in an 11-point, five rebound, two blocks, and two assist performance while senior guard Natalie Koenig went for 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. 
 
Overall, the Lakers were an efficient 49.0% from the field (13-22) and knocked down nearly 40.0% of their threes (7-18) despite starting just 2-11 in the first half. 
 
GVSU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead with back to back buckets from Dailey and Boensch before going up 8-2 with 5:22 on the clock. A three and a couple of jumpers fell for the Flyers as they would tie the game at 10-all with 1:50 left. GVSU would close out the opening stanza with a layup from Boensch and a jumper from Andrews, however, and would go into the second with a 14-10 lead. 
 
A layup and jumper from Boensch and DeBoer would get things going in the second and the shots would just keep falling for the Lakers as they would go up 28-12. The 14-2 run would be capped off with a Koenig triple with 3:46 to go. The Flyers would control the final three and a half minutes however, as they would cut the lead to just eight, 28-20, after a jumper and triple fell before a final jumper with 0:53 left would fall. 
 
Dailey hit a huge three to start the third and would follow that up with a pair of free throws after a Flyer layup to bring the score to 33-22 with just less than three minutes off the clock. After Lewis cut the lead to eight, 33-25, GVSU would use an 11-point run to push their lead back to 17, 44-27, with 3:20 left. With a 15-point lead and the ball as the clock wound down, DeBoer knocked down a buzzer-beating three to give them a comfortable 18-point lead heading into the fourth and final quarter. 
 
Lewis would start applying the pressure early with a full-court press to slow the Laker offense down as they cut the lead to nine, 50-41, with 7:31 to go. GVSU would make the quick adjustments however and a big three from Andrews with just over five and a half to go would reignite the scoring. Just two minutes later, the GVSU lead was back to 21 after another Andrews triple and the Laker starters would get a well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd as they were able to rest the last minute of the game. 
 
Again, GVSU will face the winner of Drury and Northern Michigan in the Midwest Region Final that is to be played on Monday, March 18 at 7:00 PM in the O'Reilly Family Events Center on the campus of Drury in Springfield, Mo.