ALLENDALE, Mich. – The #3 ranked Grand Valley State women's basketball team came away with a 74-55 win over Wayne State on Thursday night inside the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in a GLIAC matchup. The Lakers improve to 21-1 overall and 13-1 in GLIAC play, while Wayne State drops to 12-10 overall and 6-8 in the conference.
 
Senior center Cassidy Boensch was a force in the paint, scoring 25 points (10-16 FG) and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Laker offensive attack. Senior forward Maddie Dailey and senior guard Victoria Hedemark also scored in double figures with 15 points and 13 points respectively. As a team, the Lakers scored 46 points in the paint compared to 30 for Wayne State, while also out-rebounding the Warriors, who lead the conference in that category, 49-26. Despite the three-point baskets not falling (2-15), GVSU shot a season-high 90.1% from the charity stripe, connecting on 20 out of 22 attempts.
 
The Lakers defense was stout in the first quarter, only allowing one field goal to the Warriors which was on a coast-to-coast layup as time expired. Boensch scored eight of her game-high 25 points in the first frame and GVSU took a 17-7 lead into the second quarter. After Wayne State hit a three-pointer to begin the ensuing quarter, GVSU went on an 11-0 run, spanning seven minutes of game-play, to increase their lead to 28-10. The Lakers took a 36-20 lead into the halftime break.
 
Wayne State came out of the halftime gates scoring at a much higher rate than the first half, but the two teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter and GVSU led 55-37 entering the fourth. The Lakers secured a game-high lead of 26 points at the 5:31 mark of the fourth quarter on a jumper by Taryn Taugher.
 
A top-three showdown is looming for the #3 ranked Lakers as the #2 ranked Ashland Eagles (22-0, 14-0) come to town on Saturday afternoon for a rematch of a #3 vs. #4 matchup that took place back on Jan. 9. GVSU, who was without their second leading scorer Maddie Dailey, fell to then #4 ranked Ashland by a score of 77-68, but led 66-65 with just under three minutes remaining. Tip is set for 1:00 PM on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 8) at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.
 
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