BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Grand Valley State women's basketball team kicked off their final road trip of 2022 with another dominating performance, scoring over 80 points for the seventh time this season, and pairing it with their best defensive effort this year to come away with an 84-43 victory over D'Youville.
 
The Saints got out to an early 5-4 lead, but it was short lived, as GVSU went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for themselves. The Lakers dominated the paint, scoring their first nine baskets all in the paint. Avery Zeinstra broke that trend by burying a three-pointer, before Ellie Droste closed out the quarter with two free throws that put GVSU up 23-12 after one quarter of play.
 
The Lakers took over in the second quarter, outscoring the Saints 15-2 during the 10 minutes, and holding D'Youville scoreless until the final 39 seconds of the quarter. Nicole Kamin got the scoring started with a triple, followed by consecutive buckets from Emily Spitzley. Another Kamin basket put GVSU up 20 at 32-12, and Lexi Plitzuweit extended the lead with a three of her own. The Saints finally got on the board with two late free throws, but still trailed 38-14 at the break.
 
Both offenses got hot in the third quarter, as they both scored 20 or more points in the quarter. The two teams traded baskets for much of the quarter before a late 11-2 run, powered by threes from Ellie Droste and Avery Zeinstra and five straight points from Spitzley, as GVSU went into the final quarter of play up 60-34.
 
A 24-9 quarter for the Lakers iced their fourth consecutive win of 40 or more points. Droste buried another three early in the quarter before the Lakers took over inside the paint. Courtney Sharland scored four straight points, then Megan Crow came in and had four layups in the final minutes to cap her career day as GVSU picked up win number ten.
 
Emily Spitzley scored 16 points to pace the offense, shooting 7-16 from the field and dishing out three assists. Ellie Droste had 12 points and three rebounds, while Avery Zeinstra drilled three triples off the bench to contribute a career-high 11 points and dished out five assists and blocked two shots. Courtney Sharland had 10 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks and controlled the paint both offensively and defensively. Hannah Kulas had seven points and six boards, while Megan Crow had a career-high nine points off the bench. The defense forced 19 Saints turnovers and held them to 26.8% shooting from the field.
 
Up Next
Grand Valley closes out the final road trip of 2022 tomorrow against Wheeling in West Virginia at 2 PM.