The Grand Valley State University women’s basketball team hosted Ashland University on Thursday, Nov. 21. It was a tightly battled game in which the Lakers were ultimately able to pull ahead, with the final score being 67-42. 

The game started a bit stagnant, as neither squad could get a solid rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. GVSU did a remarkable job early on forcing turnovers, and right away, the Lakers came out in a full-court press. This seemed to rattle Ashland, as GVSU was able to force six total turnovers in the first quarter alone.

“It’s kind of what we do,” said head Coach Mike Williams, in reference to the team’s strong defensive start. 

For quite a bit of the first half when the Lakers would score, Ashland always had an answer. The Eagles were able to take the lead on several occasions. Regardless, GVSU easily played their best ball at the end of the first, largely in part to redshirt senior Ellie Droste. Droste was able to drain back-to-back 3-pointers. This helped GVSU take a nine-point lead going into the half, with the score being 29-22. 

“By running up and down the court (and) sprinting the lane, that really opens up the three-point line for me,” said Droste.

The Lakers’ strong end to the half carried over into the second. Not even a minute into the second half, redshirt senior Rylie Bisballe backed down into the key and scored. This sparked a 18-3 run for GVSU. During this run, the Lakers started to establish their dominance inside the paint. Only one basket in the third quarter was scored on the perimeter. The other seven were from driving and posting up. 

GVSU was able to outscore Ashland 19-7 in the third quarter. Combined with the intensity of the offensive plays, the defensive dominance was still a factor for GVSU as well. The Lakers led in almost every defensive category in the third quarter, including blocks and steals. 

The fourth quarter gave GVSU much more of a challenge. Ashland was able to keep the scoring differential within single digits. The first point of the closing frame belonged to Ashland, but GVSU answered just seconds later with a layup by MacKenzie Bisballe. This caused a 6-0 run by the Lakers to start the fourth. 

From this point on, the scoring slowed down a bit and it seemed like GVSU really dug their heels into defense. The Lakers knew that nursing a lead is just as important as getting one, and they were able to close out the Ashland Eagles. 

Aside from the opening quarter, GVSU controlled every other aspect of the game. They outscored the Eagles in the last three quarters. Another huge part of the Lakers’ success was their depth. They were able to get a 27-point contribution from their bench unit, while Ashland had just seven points from theirs. 

The final score was 67-42, which marked the third top-10 win of the season for GVSU. The Lakers have also moved to 6-0 for the season so far.

“I thought the effort was amazing,” said Williams. “They were really active against a really good team.”

The Lakers have two weeks off before they start GLIAC play at the beginning of December.