DELLS, WIS. – The Grand Valley State women's basketball team got their season underway this morning, defeating seventh-ranked Minnesota State 101-65. The Lakers begin the season 1-0 for the 15
th consecutive season.
It was the
MacKenzie Bisballe show to start the game, as she scored the Lakers' first 10 points, helping them lead by two. From that point on, GVSU went on a 21-6 run to finish off the quarter, scoring 18 of those points in the paint, to lead 31-14 after 10 minutes.
The Lakers rattled off 11 consecutive points to get the second frame going, increasing their lead up to 28. A few minutes later, back-to-back threes from
Madi Uyl put the Lakers up by 34. The GVSU lead grew to as much as 39, but settled at 36 at the half, up 63-27.
Minnesota State began the second half on a 10-0 run, cutting their deficit down to 26, but a three and then a step-in steal and layup from Bisballe ended the Maverick momentum. Both teams traded points the rest of the way, with GVSU up 83-50 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter,
Graycin Phillips,
Kaia Waldrop,
Rayah Hitt,
Christina Dixon, and
Destiny Webster all scored their first collegiate points to help GVSU score over 100 points for the first time since the 2024-25 season.
MacKenzie Bisballe had a monster day, scoring a career-high 32 points, hitting 13-18 from the floor, adding seven boards and two blocks.
Lauren Slagle recorded a career-high 14 points, to go along with six rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and three steals.
Anayya Davis stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Avery Lay totaled 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Lakers won the rebounding battle 48-20 and held the Mavericks to 11% shooting from beyond the arc.
Up Next
The Lakers have another early tip-off tomorrow morning, taking on #14 Central Missouri at 10:00 eastern.
