ALLENDALE, MICH. – The Grand Valley State women's basketball team begins their 2025-26 campaign this weekend, tipping off in the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic down in St. Jospesh, Missouri. The Lakers will take on Missouri Western State and West Texas A&M on Friday and Saturday.
MWSU: Live Stats |
Video | Friday | 4:00
WTAM: Live Stats |
Video | Saturday | 2:00
Coming off their second National Championship in program history, the Lakers enter the season ranked first in the WBCA preseason poll. GVSU returns six key rotation players from last year, led by returning All-GLIAC performers
Nicole Kamin,
MacKenzie Bisballe, and
Paige VanStee. All three were named to the league's preseason All-Conference team, with Kamin named the Player of the Year. GVSU was picked to win the GLIAC for the fifth straight year, earning all 10 possible first-place votes. Last year, the Lakers led the country in bench points per game (43.2 ppg) and in scoring margin, winning by 30.3 points a contest. Grand Valley State returns three players from injury and adds five freshmen to the team, along with four redshirt freshmen who will look to make an impact in their first year of action.
Missouri Western State is coming off a 20-10 season, losing in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Griffons are almost an entirely new team, returning only one player from last season. They added 11 newcomers along with a new head coach in Luke Scheidecker. The new players feature nine transfers, two from Division I, and two incoming freshmen. The lone returner is senior Meredith Rieker, who appeared in all 30 games last season, starting five of them. She averaged four points and nearly three rebounds a contest. The last time GVSU and MWSU played was in the 2022 Elite Eight, with the Lakers coming away with a 67-44 victory.
Rounding out the opening weekend is a matchup against West Texas A&M. The Buffaloes advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago, going 19-12. They were receiving votes in the preseason WBCA poll, earning the most votes of any team outside the top-25. The Buffs return their top eight scorers from last year, led by LSC Preseason Player of the Year Kyla Kane. Kane, Randi Harding, and Claire Graham all tallied double-figures last year, with all three earning All-Conference honors a season ago. This preseason, WT took on Division I teams, SMU, Arizona, and Baylor, defeating Arizona 60-57. The Lakers and Lady Buffs have met up twice before, both winning one game, with the last meeting coming back in the 1999-2000 season.
How to Follow
Both games this weekend will be available to follow along with via live stats or live stream through the MIAA Network, which is behind a paywall. For full coverage, follow along on social media @gvsuwbb and online at GVSUlakers.com.
