ALLENDALE, MICH. – The top-ranked Grand Valley State women's basketball team gets their season underway at the Midwest Tip-Off Classic, played in the Wisconsin Dells at the Justagame Fieldhouse. The Lakers will take on Minnesota State, Central Missouri, and Truman State in the opening weekend of play.
 
Minnesota State: Live Stats | Video | Radio | Friday | 10:00 AM EST/9:00 AM CT
Central Missouri: Live Stats | Video | Radio | Saturday | 10:00 AM EST/9:00 AM CT
Truman State: Live Stats | Video | Radio | Sunday | 12:15 PM EST/11:15 AM CT
 
About the Lakers
The reigning back-to-back National Champions were selected first in both the GLIAC preseason poll and the WBCA national poll. GVSU finished last season 36-1, winning their final 15 games.
 
One starter is back in Allendale this year, junior MacKenzie Bisballe, who was voted the GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year. Bisballe totaled five double-doubles last year, pouring in 14.8 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. Ava Scanlon joined her on the preseason team, garnering second-team honors. The redshirt junior averaged over eight points and four rebounds in her 13 minutes of action a game.
 
Moving into bigger roles for the Lakers are Anayya Davis, Avery Lay, Reese Gaytan, and Jordyn Bonnema. All four played minutes off the bench last season, and will look to build off that heading into this year.

Head coach Mike Williams brought in eight new faces this fall, as seven freshman and one transfer join the Lakers.
 
About Minnesota State
To begin the weekend will be Minnesota State, the last team to win a National Championship before GVSU. Coming off a 29-3 season, MSU was picked seventh in the preseason WBCA poll, and first in the NSIC poll.
 
The Mavericks will also be replacing most of their roster, losing four of their five starters. The lone returning starter is guard Elisabeth Gadient, who appeared in only 11 games last year, but averaged over 12 points in her limited action. Two key returnees Rhyan Holmgren and Haylee Stokes both tallied over eight points a game.
 
Last year, the Mavericks were one of the best in the country at forcing turnovers, causing over 32 a game, scoring more than 35 points off those turnovers. That helped the offense score 91.2 points a game, which led the country.
 
This will be the first ever meeting between GVSU and Minnesota State.
 
About Central Missouri
A second straight ranked opponent awaits GVSU, as Central Missouri enters the year ranked 14^th. The Jennies went 26-7, winning the MIAA regular season championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
CMU lost their top scorer from a season ago, but they still return four starters, led by All-MIAA First-Team selection Taylor Weishaar, who averaged over 14 points and seven boards. The three other returning starters all averaged over six points per contest.
 
Head coach Dave Slifer has recorded 848 career victories, second all-time in Division II and third across all NCAA divisions.
 
This will also be the first time that GVSU and Central Missouri have matched up against each other.
 
About Truman State
Rounding out the weekend will be an in-region matchup with Truman State. The Bulldogs return their top six scorers from a team that went 17-12 and are picked to finish fifth in the GLVC.
 
Truman State is led by 2026 First-Team All-GLVC guard Emajin McCallop, who averaged a team-high 15.6 points. Alongside her are guards Morgan Miller, Mariann Blass, and Lexie White, who each tallied over eight points a contest. In the frontcourt, forwards Avery Rausch and Mallory Ort both contributed over eight points and four boards.
 
TSU averaged 70.4 points a contest but let in over 65 points defensively. Before taking on GVSU, the Bulldogs will play LSSU and Northern Michigan.
 
How to Follow
All three games will be streamed through the Justagame website. Each game will cost $15 to watch. Additionally, you can listen to each game on ThunderCountry 107.3 or via live stats. For full coverage, follow along on social media @gvsuwbb and online at GVSUlakers.com.