ALLENDALE, MICH. – The Grand Valley women's basketball team returns home for their first home weekend of December, playing a nonconference affair with Central State on Saturday, then closing out the weekend with a conference showdown with Davenport Sunday afternoon. Both games this weekend will be played at 1:00.
 
Grand Valley State opened the season at 7-0 for the seventh time in program history and the first time since the 2019-20 season. The Lakers are 2-0 in conference play and sit atop the GLIAC standings with their perfect record, one of only three teams still undefeated in league play. In the opening weekend of conference play the Lakers defeated Ferris State 78-70 and took down LSSU 89-48, with both games taking place on the road.
 
After scoring a season-high 19 points in the win over Lake State, Emily Spitzley continues to be the leading scorer for the Lakers at 14 points a game, while shooting 47,3% from the field and grabbing 4.1 rebounds and dishing out a team-high 2.7 assists. Ellie Droste (10.7), Hannah Kulas (10.3), and Nicole Kamin (10.1) are all averaging double-figures for GVSU. Courtney Sharland is the leading rebounder at 4.6 a game and she is shooting over 60% from the floor. The Lakers are one of the best shooting teams in the country, shooting 50% from the field and 40.3% from three, both of which rank in the top 10 in the nation.
 
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member Central State opens the weekend Saturday afternoon. The Marauders are 4-4 this season but have won three in a row as they come into this matchup. They are led by sophomore wing Kailyn Nash, who is averaging 15.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. Abbigail Peterson is the only other Marauder in double-figures, as she is scoring 12 points a game. Dashanti Miller is pulling down 7.1 rebounds a game, and Central State is limiting teams behind the arc, as opponents are only converting 29.4% of shots from deep. This will be the third matchup between the two programs, with Grand Valley winning each of the previous two games, defeating the Marauders 73-50 in the 2018-19 season and beating them 80-54 in the 2019-20 season.
 
In the weekend closing game, Davenport will make the short trip over to Allendale for a conference tilt. The Panthers are 5-4 this season and 0-2 in conference play, falling to LSSU 75-59 and losing to Ferris 67-55 this past weekend. DU is under the direction of first year head coach Shonda Sanders and she has already more than doubled the Panthers win total from last year. Lillee Gustafson has been a leading force for the Panthers, as she is averaging a double-double with 12.2 points and 10.1 rebounds this season. The Panther defense is holding teams under 40% from the field, under 30% from three, and they are forcing over 17 turnovers per contest. This will be the 13^th all-time matchup between GVSU and Davenport, and the Lakers are undefeated winning all 12 of the matchups. The Lakers swept the season series last year, winning 73-38 at home and 54-44 on the road.
 
Both games this week will be available to follow through live stream, live audio, or live stats. For full coverage of the game, including live in-game updates, follow @gvsuwbb on Twitter and visit gvsulakers.com.