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UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Grand Valley State women's basketball team will finally tip off the 2020-21 season with a pair of contests at Saginaw Valley State beginning Friday (Jan. 8) at 5:00 PM. Saturday's tip between the two teams is set for 3:00 PM. No fans will be in attendance.
The Lakers must replace a seven-member senior class that led the team to a 28-3 record and a fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth last season. Junior guard
Emily Spitzley (3.7 ppg.) is back after suffering a season-ending injury last year and classmates
Brooke McKinley (23 3-PT FGM),
Samantha Gehrls, and
Hannah Kulas will be looked upon for increased roles. Senior center
Kiri Tiemeyer and sophomore forward
Courtney Sharland also return in the front court after playing behind graduated All-American
Cassidy Boensch.
In graduating seven seniors, the newcomers will be a key in the devolvement of this season's team. Senior guard
Qay Stanton joins the Lakers after playing last season at Eastern Kentucky University (Division 1) where she averaged 6.9 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds a game in 29 games for the Colonels. Junior guard
Hallee Breimayer also looks to make an impact in her first season in Allendale after averaging 11.6 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.6 rebounds during her two-year stint at Grand Rapids Community College.
Saginaw Valley State returns five of their top six scorers from last season's team that finished 12-17 overall and 8-12 in GLIAC play. Reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year Kaitlyn Zarycki led the Cardinals in scoring at 13.4 points per game last year, while averaging 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. In total, SVSU brings back nearly 85% of their scoring and five players that averaged at least 7.4 points per game.
GVSU has won the last six meetings between the two schools and leads the all-time series, 60-34. Last season, the Lakers won 57-42 at Saginaw and 72-34 in the matchup at home.
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