The red-hot Grand Valley State women’s basketball team continues to impress offensively.

GVSU’s shooters were firing on all cylinders at Fieldhouse Arena on Saturday, as the Lakers (3-0) blew past No. 5 Gannon (3-2) with a 95-72 victory.

For the third consecutive week, GVSU made shooting from beyond the arc look easy, netting 13 3-pointers for the second time this year. The team averages 12 trifectas per game, with a sizzling 3-point shooting percentage of 45.6 percent.

Leading the 3-point charge against Gannon was senior forward Kat LaPrairie, who hit all four of her first-half shots from long range.

“It’s like one goes up and the next is my first all over again,” LaPrairie said. “I’m not keeping track and that helps me to be successful.”

GVSU didn’t take long to get it going from downtown in the first half, connecting on 6-of-9 attempts from 3-point land (66.7 percent). The team was 18-of-29 from the floor and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line in the opening stanza.

Though the offense poured it on early, it was the defense that set the tone for the game.

The Golden Knights scored just two points in the paint in the first half, shooting 9-of-28 from the field. Gannon was able to see some success from 3-point range, however, going 7-of-18 from beyond the arc.

“We could have done better, but this was the best our defense has been so far this year,” said junior guard Brionna Barnett. “We were focused on not letting them get inside, which kind of left the 3-pointer open for them.”

The Lakers, who led 51-29 at the break, stayed hot in the second half. The team scored 44 points and was even more productive from 3-point land, nailing 7-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc (63.6 percent).

The Golden Knights were able to keep pace after working the ball down low by scoring 16 points in the paint, but it proved to be too little too late.

GVSU led by as many as 27 points in the second half.

“We’re responding and rising to the expectations of Coach (Janel) Burgess every week,” LaPrairie said. “We’re focusing on different teams and we’re responding really well.”

Barnett (9-of-15, 23 points) led the Lakers in scoring, and was followed closely by LaPrairie (20) and sophomore forward Kayla Dawson (16).

The team’s ability to move the ball was effective against Gannon, as the Lakers racked up 23 assists.

The bench had a good showing as well, finishing with 23 points on the day. Junior forward Jammie Botruff led the way with eight points, senior guard Meryl Cripe added seven and freshman center Korynn Hincka poured in six.

“You see ladies that are extremely confident working together so well that everybody wants everyone to succeed,” Burgess said. “Because of that, the ball is flowing smoothly.”

Defensively, the Lakers were solid throughout the game, tallying eight steals and forcing 13 turnovers, but their perimeter defense struggled at times. The Golden Knights finished with 13 trifectas of their own.

“We lost the 3-point battle today,” Dawson said. “Definitely some things that need to be cleaned up, but we can definitely get better.”

The Lakers open conference play this week with a pair of road games in Ohio. The team takes on reigning GLIAC South champion Ashland on Thursday before a game at Lake Erie on Saturday.

“Our job is not done by any stretch,” Burgess said. “Right now it’s about us getting better heading into GLIAC play.”