SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team fell to the Northwood University Timberwolves by a final score of 74-45 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. on Saturday, Jan. 22.
The Lakers started the conference matchup strong as the team held a six-point lead (11-5) through the first five minutes of play. Mattison Rayman got the Lakers on the board with a layup in the first minute of the game to give LSSU a 2-1 lead and junior guard Carson Nitz made a three pointer for a 5-1 Laker advantage. The Timberwolves responded with a three-pointer to come back within a point of the Lakers but freshman CeCe Hacker made a layup to regain a three-point cushion over Northwood (7-4).
At 5:27 of the first half, senior forward Makenzie Bray added the Lakers second three-pointer of the quarter for an 11-4 lead. Northwood would add the next seven points to tie the game at 11 with a minute left on the clock in the opening quarter. Rayman closed out the first quarter's scoring with a layup to give her team a 13-11 advantage after the first ten minutes of play.
Northwood's offense controlled the early minutes of the second quarter as the Timberwolves scored nine straight points to open the quarter. Bray made a layup at the 6:38 mark to pull the Lakers back within five points (20-15) of the Timberwolves. Ella Bontrager and Rayman each added layups for the Lakers in the next two minutes of the quarter as the deficit remained five (24-19) with 4:25 left in the first half.
The Timberwolves would then go on a scoring run of nine straight points to build a double-digit lead over the Lakers (33-19) with 1:20 left in the first half. Rayman added four points for the Lakers in the final minute of play but Northwood would hold a 35-23 lead at the close of the first half.
In the third quarter, the Lakers were unable to stop Northwood's offense as the visiting team outscored the Lakers 25-12 to hold a 60-35 lead. In the final quarter of the conference game, the Lakers could not come back and the Timberwolves would secure the win by a final score of 74-45.
Breaking Down the Game: Rayman led the Lakers in the game with 16 points as she recorded five field goals and went 6-for-9 from the free throw line. The junior forward also led the team in rebounds as she recorded 11 boards to earn her sixth double-double of the season. Makenzie Bray ranked second on the team as the other double-digit point scorer for the Lakers as she totaled 10 points.
The Lakers finished the game with a 29.5 shooting percentage, going 18-for-61 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Timberwolves went 29-for-76 in the game to total a 38.2 shooting percentage. Northwood outrebounded Lake State, 49-35, in the game.
What's Next
Next weekend, the Lakers will play two GLIAC road games as they are set to take on the Wayne State Warriors and the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals. The game against the Warriors is set for a 5:30 tipoff on Thursday, Jan. 27 while the matchup with the Cardinals is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start on Saturday, Jan. 29.
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