If Grand Valley State’s women’s basketball team is still classified as the Cinderella of the NCAA Division II Tournament, the Lakers aren’t wearing just any old glass slippers.

Those slippers are steel-toed.

The Lakers (26-9) defeated No. 2 seed Pittsburg State (29-6) 59-56 in the Elite Eight on March 22, and advance to their second Final Four appearance in school history. They are set to face No. 2 seed Alaska-Anchorage (37-2) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on March 23.

The Final Four appearance comes in GVSU coach Mike Williams’ first year as head coach.

“(The players) exceeded my expectations,” Williams said. “I don’t know if they’ve exceeded theirs, I think they always believed they had the potential to do this, which I think was good, but from my standpoint, being a first-year head coach, I didn’t know what to expect.

“Sometimes it goes the other way. These players did not let that happen. These players, the assistant coaches, made sure that we stayed on the right path and got it done.”

With just 1:36 remaining in the game against Pittsburg State, the Lakers lost the lead when the Gorillas’ leading scorer Mikaela Burgess drained a 3-pointer to make it 56-55. Those three points were the final points of the game for the Gorillas.

GVSU forward Bailey Cairnduff answered the Burgess 3-pointer with a contested layup to put the Lakers back on top, 57-56. It was the final lead change in a game that featured 11 lead changes and eight ties.

Burgess, a sophomore who leads the team in scoring (18 points per game) and was an All-MIAA First Team selection, made two key mistakes that may follow her into the offseason. Following the Cairnduff layup, GVSU guard Janae Langs drew a charging foul after Burgess tried barreling into the paint for a layup.

GVSU forward Taylor Parmley had two shot attempts on the ensuing possession, but was unable to convert, giving the Gorillas another shot to take the lead with 36 seconds remaining in the game.

Burgess, however, mishandled the ball at the top of the arc, and Parmley stole the ball, leading a fast break down the other end. She missed the initial layup, but grabbed her own miss and was fouled with 16 seconds left in the game. She had an opportunity to make it a three-point game at the line.

After going 4-of-9 from the line in the first half, Parmley sank both free throws to make her a 4-of-4 from the line in the second half, forcing the Gorillas to go for a 3-pointer.

“It was great that we got that steal, it was great that I made those two free throws,” Parmley said. “I was giving just all I had at that point.”

On the final possession of the game, the Gorillas tried to get the ball to Burgess, who was unable to get open. With time draining, Gorillas’ center Cathy Brugman launched a 3-pointer from well behind the arc, but the shot was way off mark, bouncing off the backboard and into Langs’ hands. The Gorillas made no attempt to foul and the buzzer sounded, giving the Lakers the win.

The Lakers outrebounded the Gorillas 42-32, despite the Gorillas having a big size advantage with forwards Brugman (6-foot-1-inch) and Kylie Gafford (6-foot-2-inches). The two combined for just 16 points on 5-of-19 shooting and only eight boards.

The 56-point total for the Pittsburg State was its lowest scoring output all season.

“We played great defense down the stretch,” Parmley said. “We didn’t let them get to the foul line, which is what our game plan was. We had some people get some really big boards down the stretch: Janae (Langs), Bailey (Cairnduff), and overall we just played as a team. We just kept grinding it out.”

Burgess was held to zero first half points on 0-of-4 shooting, and scored all of her 13 points in the second half. She finished with three of the team’s six turnovers, including two crucial late mistakes.

Parmley, a redshirt freshman, posted her first career double-double with 19 points and 11 boards. Piper Tucker finished with nine points and nine boards. Langs had nine points and five rebounds.

The Lakers will now face No. 2 seed Alaska-Anchorage on March 23 at 9:30 p.m. The Seawolves are the No. 4-ranked team in the nation, and have a whopping 37 wins on the season. The last and only other time the Lakers made the Final Four was in the 2005-06 season, when they went on to win the Division II national championship.

Time will tell if another championship appearance is in the cards for the Lakers.

“The mood of the team is just excited,” Parmley said. “It’s a great opportunity to go out and play. We’ve still got nothing to lose, being a lower seed, no one expected us to be here.

“We’re just putting it all on the line and just having fun with it, that’s the most important thing. We love each other and love each other’s company, and we’re excited we get to play another game together.”