SAGINAW, MICH. – The number three team in the country, the Grand Valley State women, traveled to Saginaw for the second edition of the Battle of the Valleys with SVSU. GVSU locked down the Cardinals defensively, winning 68-42. The Lakers now move to 24-1 overall and maintain their spot atop the GLIAC standings at 16-1.
 
Aided by seven points from Paige VanStee, the Lakers raced out to an early 9-0 lead. The Cardinals came back to tie the game at nine three minutes later, but Lexi Plitzuweit ended the Laker scoring drought with a triple. VanStee knocked down two free throws to make it 14-9 after one quarter.
 
Grand Valley State continued their scoring run into the second quarter, beginning on an 11-2 run, extending their lead up to 25-11. Avery Zeinstra capped off the run with a three-pointer that just beat the shot clock. After a couple of SVSU baskets, Ava Scanlon scored four straight points, then VanStee ended the half with buzzer-beating three, putting the Lakers up 32-17.
 
The Cardinals cut their deficit down to nine points less than four minutes into the second half, which was quickly answered by a 9-0 GVSU run, pushing their lead up to 42-25. The teams traded baskets to end the quarter with the Lakers leading 45-31.
 
Following a triple from Molly Anderson and a jumper from VanStee, the Laker lead grew above 20 points early in the fourth period. The lead would only briefly dip below 20 the rest of the way, with GVSU outscoring SVSU 23-11 in the final quarter to put the game away.
 
Paige VanStee went off for 25 points, shooting 9-15 from the floor, pulling down seven rebounds in the process. Ava Scanlon had 12 points and two blocks, with MacKenzie Bisballe adding seven boards and three steals. The Laker defense forced 27 turnovers and had 14 steals.
 
Up Next
The Lakers close out the road trip on Saturday, traveling up to LSSU for a 1:00 game.