KENOSHA, Wis. – The #3 ranked Grand Valley State women's basketball team completed the season sweep of Parkside on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Rangers 82-49 in conference play. The Lakers improve to 20-1 overall and 12-1 in the GLIAC, while Parkside falls to 12-9 overall and 9-4 in league play.
Following the win, the Laker seniors (four-year players) are now the winningest class in program history, breaking the school-record of 98 wins in four years set by Crystal Zick and Erin Cyplik (2004-2008). Seniors
Jenai LaPorte,
Jenn DeBoer,
Victoria Hedemark,
Maddie Dailey, and
Cassidy Boensch have compiled a record of 99-20 (.831) throughout their career.
Senior guard
Taryn Taugher tied a a season-high with 19 points to lead the Lakers, while senior center
Cassidy Boensch had 18 points and senior forward
Maddie Dailey totaled 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Senior guard
Jenn DeBoer dished out a team-high eight assists. As a team, the Lakers shot a blistering 57.4% from the field and knocked down 14 of 20 attempts from the charity stripe. GVSU also dominated Parkside in points in the paint (46-26), points off turnovers (23-8) and bench points (18-9).
The game began fairly even with the two teams trading baskets throughout the first five minutes of the contest before the Lakers ended the quarter on a 13-4 run to take a 25-15 lead into the second frame. In the second quarter, GVSU put the game out of reach, going on a 14-0 run to increase the lead to 39-15 with 5:17 remaining in the half. The Lakers led 50-27 at the break.
GVSU's offense cooled off in the second half, but still managed to push the lead to a game-high 31 points at 60-29 toward the end of the third. After holding Parkside to just 22 points in the second half, the Lakers have now allowed under 50 points for the seventh straight game.
The Lakers will welcome Wayne State (Feb. 6) and #2 Ashland (Feb. 8) to the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena next week for a pair of key matchups in GLIAC play.
