Visiting GLIAC North Division rival Lake Superior State University managed to edge the hometown Lakers 79-72 Saturday despite the Grand Valley State University women’s basketball team forcing overtime after a spirited final two minutes of regulation play.

Following three consecutive timeouts, junior guard Jasmine Padin capped a late 8-2 run for GVSU in the final 1:40 with a game-tying 3-point shot with 12 seconds left on the clock that tied the score at 65-65. Lake Superior guard Emily Joseph’s jumper hit the rim as time expired, forcing the overtime period.

After sophomore center Alex Stelfox’s jumper for tied the score at 72-72 with 1:17 left in overtime, a 3-pointer from Lake Superior guard Nicole Marshall gave the visiting Lakers a 75-72 lead they did not relinquish.

GVSU suffered its first home loss of the season, falling to 11-2 overall and 5-2 in GLIAC play. Lake Superior improved to 9-3 overall while tying Michigan Technological University atop the North Division standings with a 6-0 mark in conference play.

“Lake (Superior) State is a great team—they’re a seasoned team,” said GVSU head coach Janel Burgess. “We’ve got two good losses, these are two good teams that we’ve lost to, and we’re a very good team as well.”

It was a tough loss for the Lakers, who lead Lake Superior in most categories. GVSU shot 43.3 percent from the field, while Lake Superior shot 27-65 for the game at a 41.5 percent clip.

GVSU lead in points off turnovers, points in the paint, points off second chance plays, fast break scoring and bench scoring, where they beat Lake Superior 20-5.

“Our bench has been very solid the entire season, and that’s where our depth has been helpful for us,” Burgess said. “We need to take advantage in the sense that we have the team that has the more energy at the end to finish those possessions.”

Stelfox lead the way for GVSU with a team-high 21 points, a career-best five assists, five rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore forward Brittany Taylor lead the bench scoring with 10 points and pulled down a key offensive rebound with 18 seconds left in regulation that set up the Padin 3-pointer.

The game saw 11 lead changes and was tied five times as both teams traded clutch shooting performances late.

“We had self-confidence and the determination to succeed,” Padin said. “(Nicole Marshall and Emily Joseph) were hitting big shots (for Lake Superior), and we were hitting big shots. Everybody stepped up to the plate and everyone was resilient. No one wanted to lose this game, which is why we went into overtime in the first place.”

The Lakers will look to adjust some first half mistakes going into Wednesday’s GLIAC matchup against Northwood (5-7 overall, 1-5 GLIAC).

“In the first half our big problem was communication and defending the ball screen,” Stelfox said. “Communicating, finishing our possessions on offense, looking at different opportunities that we have and not forcing shots will be key. We’re going to keep going stronger and we’ll learn from this loss.”

Padin stressed that the team cannot overlook Northwood on Wednesday and was determined to not repeat Saturday’s result.

“That’s how good the GLIAC is – you have to come and play any given day no matter if the team is 2-11 or 11-1,” she said. “We’ll come in prepared and focused, determined to get better and succeed.”

The Lakers went 3-1 over the holiday break, suffering their first loss of the year to Michigan Tech (11-1) in a 60-55 battle in Houghton.

Wednesday’s game will begin at 8 p.m.

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