ALLENDALE, MICH. – The Grand Valley State women's basketball team hosted Northwood in their home opener Sunday afternoon. The Lakers took control early and never looked back, claiming an 81-56 victory. The win moves them to 6-0 heading into next week's GLIAC opener.
 
The two teams went back-and-forth over the first four minutes of the game, with the score tied at nine. From that point on, GVSU went on a 16-2 run to end the quarter, getting back-to-back triples from Avery Zeinstra, to lead 25-11 after 10 minutes of action.
 
Grand Valley State continued their scoring run into the second period, opening on a 10-5 run, with Nicole Kamin and Anayya Davis each connecting from deep. With the score 35-17, Northwood went on an 8-2 run to cut their deficit to 13 points, but five straight Laker points to end the half made it 42-24.
 
Early in the third quarter, GVSU was able to push their lead beyond 20 points following two free throws from Kamin. After the Timberwolves were able to briefly get back within 20, Ava Scanlon hit two free throws to start a 7-0 run, capped off by five straight Zeinstra points, that made it 57-32. The Lakers increased their advantage up to 30 points, before a late Northwood layup made it 66-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
GVSU increased their lead all the way up to 32 points just over two minutes into the fourth quarter. They kept the advantage above 25 points the entirety of the final 10 minutes, closing out their sixth double-digit victory of the season.
 
Nicole Kamin scored a season-high 19 points, hitting 7-11 shots, adding six boards and three steals. Avery Zeinstra tallied 14 points, connecting on four of her five triples, and Ava Scanlon recorded 10 points. Paige VanStee and Anayya Davis each had nine points. MacKenzie Bisballe totaled seven points, eight boards, three blocks, and three steals. Lexi Plitzuweit had six assists and Avery Lay tallied four steals.
 
Up Next
The Lakers begin GLIAC play next week, taking on LSSU on Thursday and SVSU on Saturday.