The Laker Show rolls on.
The Grand Valley State women’s basketball team shook off a sluggish start and rolled past Alabama-Huntsville, 61-39, in the Women’s Division II Final Four on Thursday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh.
GVSU (35-1) is one win away from its second consecutive national championship, and third in program history.
The Lakers will play Indiana (Pa.) in the championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday in Pittsburgh.
“We want to do this every single year,” said Paige VanStee, a redshirt senior guard/forward. “Our class is so hungry and so competitive to get to the last game.
“It’s like no other game.”
Paige VanStee (Middleville) scored 19 to lead the Lakers, while sophomore forward MacKenzie Bisballe (Lake City) and redshirt senior guard Nicole Kamin (Escanaba) each scored 13.
Bisballe also had 19 rebounds for Grand Valley State. The Lakers won the rebounding battle, 64-28, allowing them to get off 21 more shots than Alabama-Huntsville.
That’s why the Lakers survived despite shooting just 28.8%.
“That probably was the difference in the game,” Lakers head coach Mike Williams said.
BOX SCORE: Grand Valley State 61, Alabama-Huntsville 39
Grand Valley State was tested early in the game, leading just 14-13 after a first quarter in which the Lakers were 6-for-25 shooting from the field (24%), including 0-for-5 from 3-point range. The Lakers led, 29-22, at the half, before blowing the game open in the third quarter.
Grand Valley State now has beaten its five NCAA Tournament opponents by an average of 26.4 points.
“Our shots definitely weren’t falling tonight,” Kamin said. “It was important not to get frustrated.
“That was a hard game.”
Lili Wilken scored 14 and Chloe Siegel 12 for Alabama-Huntsville (32-6), which also shot just 28.8% for the game.
The Lakers, led by Williams, in his 11th season, have lost just once, to rival Wayne State in Detroit in February. Grand Valley State went 38-2 last season in winning the program’s second national championship, first since 2006.
In the Men’s Division II NCAA Tournament, Michigan Tech lost to Gannon, 75-49, in the Elite Eight round Wednesday, also in Pittsburgh. Tech (29-7) set a program record for wins.
Women’s Division II NCAA Tournament championship game
GRAND VALLEY STATE VS. INDIANA (PA.)
Tip-off: 3 p.m. Saturday, UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Pittsburgh
TV: ESPN+
Records: Grand Valley State 35-1; Indiana (Pa.) 31-3
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Grand Valley State women’s basketball one win from another DII national title
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
