Grand Valley State’s women’s basketball team is more than halfway through the 2015-16 campaign, and one question looms above the entire GLIAC.

Who’s going to beat Ashland?

The Eagles sit atop the GLIAC at 21-0 and lead the GLIAC in team scoring with 77.8 points per game. GVSU is second in the conference with 73.9 points per game. The two teams met once this season, and the Lakers lost that contest 72-65 on December 3.

The Eagles also lead the GLIAC with a 47.9 field goal percentage, and are the only team in the conference that averages 20 assists per game.

Considered a more offensive-minded team before the season, GVSU has struck a balance between offense and defense that has helped it improve tremendously. First-year head coach Mike Williams took a team that struggled defensively a year ago, and has it holding opponents to just 55 points per game, good for second in the GLIAC — right behind Ashland.

As it stands right now, GVSU is 16-5 (11-4 GLIAC) and is 8-2 in its last 10 games. The Lakers are tied for second place overall in the conference with Michigan Tech, Saginaw Valley State and Ohio Dominican. In games played against those four teams, GVSU is 1-3; the last lost coming recently against SVSU, 68-65.

GVSU is going to need the highest seed it can get for the conference tournament. In the last two seasons, the Lakers are 23-3 at home and 12-9 on the road. The higher-seeded team hosts games in the conference tournament, and GVSU needs this advantage, knowing that Ashland is more than likely a lock for the No. 1 seed.

The top three teams from the North and South divisions get automatic bids, and there are two wildcards. GVSU in a tie for the North Division lead with SVSU and Michigan Tech and, barring any major collapses, these three will most likely be the teams who take up the top three spots.

If GVSU wants to win a GLIAC title, it’ll have to get past one or more of these teams in the conference tournament. As part of its final seven games, GVSU plays Michigan Tech on Feb. 6 and SVSU on Feb. 18. Wins in these two games won’t guarantee the Lakers a top seed — but it’ll certainly help.

As for the regular season title, I don’t see Ashland faltering with fewer than 10 games left in the season.

The Lakers have several things working in their favor. The trio of Kayla Dawson (16.1 points per game), Bailey Cairnduff (10.9 points per game) and Brionna Barnett (10.1 points per game) can rival any other trio in the GLIAC. Dawson has been the clear No. 1 for the Lakers, and Cairnduff has found her groove after coming back from an injury that sidelined her for most of last season.

Barnett has missed the last two games due to a bad back. It doesn’t appear to be too serious, but it’s rather untimely given the late stage of the season. The postseason is a different animal, and the Lakers will need their senior point guard 100 percent if they want to have any shot at the other GLIAC heavyweights.

With Barnett, the Lakers feature a potent offense that can strike from anywhere on the floor.

There are some concerns for the Lakers. The season-ending injury to 6-foot-1-inch backup center Korynn Hincka, suffered during a Jan. 23 game against Northwood, took away one of the Lakers’ primary contributors off the bench.

The Hincka injury leaves the Lakers with only three prominent contributors off of the bench — Lindsay Baker, Taylor Parmley and Janae Langs. While all three are good players, none can replace the size and defensive rebounding capability of Hincka, who led the team with 5.6 total rebounds per game in just 13.2 minutes per game.

The Lakers are sixth in both offensive and defensive boards in the GLIAC, and losing their top rebounder midseason hurts.

Another area of concern is the 3-point shooting. The Lakers have shot it well as a team, totaling a 38.4 percent clip. To say they’ve shot it often this season would be an understatement. The Lakers have let 549 triples fly this season, which is 80 more than the second-highest team in the GLIAC.

Shots behind the arc are a necessary and vital part of the Laker offense, but one could argue they rely on it too heavily. In their five losses, the Lakers’ team 3-point field goal performances were 8-of-27, 6-of-20, 11-of-26, 3-of-16 and 10-of-33. The Lakers should certainly keep shooting, but, if they lose in the GLIAC tournament and shoot poorly from 3-point in the process, don’t act surprised.

The Lakers are a good team with great leadership. Williams’ impact on the defensive side of the ball this year is key. It’s clear the Lakers are one of the top teams in the GLIAC, and will definitely be in contention at the top of their conference. With Dawson, the Lakers have a go-to scorer and game-changer, which is basically a must for March.

Through all of the percentages, standings, seeding, injuries and everything else, though, there still remains one question that will ultimately decide the fate of the GLIAC.

Who’s going to beat Ashland?