ASHLAND, Ohio – The No. 6 Grand Valley State women's basketball team earned their first NCAA Tournament win since 2019 with a 72-46 victory over the 7-seed Wayne State Warriors Friday (March 11) at Kates Gymnasium. The second-seeded Lakers will face 3-seed Drury Saturday (March 12) at 5 PM with live coverage on 106.1 FM and 1340 AM The Ticket (
www.theticketmi.com).
Ellie Droste led the Laker attack with six made three-pointers for 22 points on the day.
Emily Spitzley and
Hannah Kulas each scored 10 while
Joslyn Brennan added nine points and eight rebounds and
Qay Stanton dished six assists and hauled in seven boards. The Lakers out-rebounded Wayne State, 43-27, for the game including a 14-5 edge in offensive rebounds.
It was a hot start for the Lakers, jumping out to a 9-0 lead off the opening tip. Kulas buried a three and hit a pair of free throws, then Spitzley hit a jumper from 10 feet out to force an early Warrior timeout. Wayne State would respond with seven straight points to get back within two.
Rylie Bisballe would enter the game, after missing last week's GLIAC Tournament with a hand injury, and instantly scored before a Droste three re-extended the lead. The Laker lead would hang around the six-mark for much of the first half, leading 20-14 after the first quarter. Brennan hit a pair of free throws then Droste connected from deep again to put the Lakers up 12 before a buzzer-beating layup cut the lead to 34-24 at the half.
Midway through the third quarter, Droste went on a run of three straight threes made to extend the lead to 18 and put the game out of reach. The Lakers would lead by as many as 27 with five minutes left in regulation as an entire second unit got to close out the win.
The Lakers will face Drury at Kates Gymnasium at 5 PM Saturday. Follow @GVSUWBB on social media for live updates and listen to the game live on The Ticket West Michigan.
