The Grand Valley State women’s basketball team has made fast starts a habit this year, leading the defending NCAA Division II champions back to the Elite Eight.
Another sharp-shooting first quarter propelled the No. 1 Lakers to the Final Four for the second year in a row and third time in five seasons.
GVSU scored 32 points in the first quarter an raced to a 96-48 win over Carson-Newman on Tuesday, March 24, in Pittsburgh to reach the NCAA Division II semifinals.
“This team enjoys the moment like no other team I have ever coached. Last year we kind of had it, but they had something to prove. It is led by that senior group,” GVSU coach Mike Williams said. “There is no question playing on this floor last year three times, that this was comfortable. I think it does help, there is no question. This team doesn’t feel the pressure for some reason. “
GVSU (34-1) will face the Cal Poly Polmoma-Alabama Huntsville winner on Thursday, March 26, in Pittsburgh.
“It is a blessing (to reach the Final Four),” GVSU senior Nicole Kamin said. “We are not ready to be done yet.”
After a basket by Paige VanStee opened the scoring, GVSU’s Molly Anderson drained back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Lakers an 8-2 lead. Avery Zeinstra added a 3-pointer, then Nicole Kamin and Ava Scanlon traded baskets twice.
Kamin drained two 3-pointers and MacKenzie Bisballe, who was voted a third-team All-American, each drained one, leading GVSU to a 32-8 lead after shooting 60% from the field and 55% from 3-point range. Zeinstra and Anderson each had eight points with Zeinstra grabbing six rebounds. The Lakers totaled 23 offensive rebounds.
“It has been a long week of practice, and we were just excited to get out there and play. Shots were falling for us pretty early, which was nice, then we just stayed aggressive the rest of the game,” Kamin said. “We care so much about each other, and we don’t care who is scoring. At the end of the day, we just want to win, and I think we showed that.”
Kamin scored 10 of her 14 points in the first quarter, grabbed five steals and six blocks, while fellow GVSU guard Lexi Plitzuweit had five assists in the opening period. VanStee added nine points and six rebounds.
Balancing the outside shooting was the inside presence of Bisballe (14 points, six rebounds) and Scanlon (16 points, five rebounds, two assists). Scanlon missed last season with a knee injury and was forced to watch from the bench as the Lakers played on this stage.
“It is amazing. It is great to play with this group of girls. Watching last year gave me extra motivation and I was ready to get out there and help my team,” Scanlon said.
She matched her career high in scoring.
“I don’t really think about that. I know my teammates trust in me and whatever that looks like, that is good enough,” she said.
Meanwhile, the GVSU defense forced seven turnovers in the first quarter, kept it going, pushing the lead to 55-23 at halftime.
GVSU forced 17 turnovers and gave up just four until the final minutes when the game was out of reach. The Lakers also own the rebounding battle 52-30 and had 24 offensive rebounds and 21 assists.
Emily Gonzalez led Carson-Newman (25-11) with 11 points.
“Grand Valley is obviously as good as advertised,” Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. “We knew this was going to be a tough game. They are extremely solid. They are big and they got off hot. We had to pick our poison. We got in a whole that was going to be tough to get out of.”
The other final four matchup will be Indiana University Pennsylvania vs Colorado Mesa.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU women’s basketball reaches NCAA Final Four: ‘We aren’t done yet’
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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