The #6 Lakers will be tied with the #24 Huskies

Allendale, Mich. – No. 6 Grand Valley State evened the season series by taking down No. 24 Michigan Tech 60-43 on Thursday night at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The Huskies converted just 2 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc as the Lakers led for all but 17 seconds in the game.

Michigan Tech struggled to make baskets, especially in the second quarter, and fell behind 31-16 at the half. Despite the loss, Isabella Lenz had 13 points for MTU, along with five rebounds, four steals and a pair of blocks. Both teams entered the night on three-game winning streaks, but the Lakers maintained their position at the top of the GLIAC Standings with a win.

“I thought we competed hard tonight,” head coach Sam Clayton said. “The shots just weren’t falling. Bella created us. “Emma (Anderson) and Tessa (Lise) came off the bench and defended well. We can learn a lot from this game and build on it for the future.”

Tech’s only lead came early in the first quarter, when Caitlin Meester’s layup made it 7-5. Paige Vantey came off the bench for a team-high 13 points and added five offensive rebounds as Grand Valley State slowly built a margin. The Lakers used nine reserve players to expand their scoring. Ellie Droste also contributed 10 points.

Both teams committed 16 turnovers, but the Lakers outscored the Huskies 39-27, including 11 on the offensive glass. Tech finished 17-for-49 (34.7 percent) overall and 7-for-10 (70 percent) on free throw attempts.

Grand Valley State shot 39.3 percent (22-56) from the field and 76.9 percent (10-13) from the free throw line.

Michigan Tech (19-5, 11-3 GLIAC) has four regular season games remaining, hosting Davenport in Grand Rapids on Saturday at 1 pm Grand Valley State (21-2, 12-1) will host Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon.