ALLENDALE, MICH. – It was Senior Day for the GVSU women's basketball team as they honored the three seniors, Haley Swing, Hannah Kulas, and Emily Spitzley were recognized before the game for all that they have done for the program. Following the ceremony, the Lakers closed out the regular season with their ninth straight win as they took down rival Ferris State 72-55.
 
The game started out slowly, with the scored tied at four with 2:58 remaining in the first quarter. GVSU started to heat up after that, ending the quarter on an 8-2 run, capped off by a Kulas jumper at the buzzer to put the Lakers up 12-6.
 
That momentum carried over into the second quarter, as GVSU started on an 14-4 scoring run to bring the lead up to 16 points at 26-10, with Ellie Droste burying a triple to cap off the run. Nicole Kamin would hit a three of her own before Droste made the second buzzer-beating jumper of the game to close out quarter, as she hit a turnaround jump shot from the elbow to close out the half with the Lakers up 33-19.
 
Ferris State would open the second half by cutting the lead down to 12 at 35-23, but GVSU would respond once again, this time with a 20-8 run in the middle of the quarter, highlighted by triples from Droste and Abrie Cabana, as well as an and-1 jumper from Kamin to push the lead up to 24. They would keep the lead at 20 to end the half, with the Lakers up 57-37.
 
The Lakers would keep the lead above 20 for most of the fourth quarter, before subbing out their three seniors one-by-one, as they each got an ovation from the crowd in their final regular season game of the season.  This senior class will go down as the winningest class in program history, as they won 127 games in their careers.
 
GVSU had a balanced offensive attack, led by Hannah Kulas and Nicole Kamin with 12 each. Rylie Bisballe added 10 points and eight boards, while Ellie Droste, Emily Spitzley, and Paige Vanstee all had nine. GVSU outrebounded the Bulldogs 41-26 and forced 22 turnovers.
 
UP NEXT
The Lakers start the postseason next week, starting with the GLIAC Quarterfinals next Wednesday. GVSU will take on Purdue Northwest in Allendale at 6pm.