SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team recorded a well-earned 65-64 victory in overtime against the Davenport Panthers in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game on Saturday, Feb. 5 at the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
First Half:
Senior Makenzie Bray scored on the first possession of the game as she made a layup to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead. The Panthers responded with an 11 point scoring run over the Lakers to build an 11-2 lead with 6:00 left in the first quarter. Lake State would notch the game's next five points as Mattison Rayman and Bray each added points for the Lakers in the stretch to make it an 11-7 game.
As the first quarter played on, the Panthers would add a three pointer from Kendal Swartout and a layup from Emily Lange to extend their lead to nine points (16-10) with 1:48 left on the clock. Bray answered with her first three of the game with 1:21 to play in the opening quarter and the score favored Davenport (18-10) after the first 10 minutes of action.
After the Panthers extended their lead to double-digits after scoring a jumper on the first play of the second quarter, Bray made her second three-pointer of the game to cut the deficit to seven points (20-13). At 8:46 of the second quarter, Bray hit another shot from beyond the arc to bring the Lakers within six points (22-16).
LSSU continued to chip away at Davenport's lead as the second quarter played on as Bray made a pair of free throws and Kelly Olthof made a layup after an offensive rebound to pull the Lakers within four points (24-20).
In the closing minutes of the first half, Bray continued her strong play as she finished the first 20 minutes with 18 points. The senior made a layup and added a point from the free throw line as the Lakers trailed 30-24 at halftime.
Second Half:
Davenport's Toni Grace gave her team an eight point lead in the opening seconds of the second half (32-24). The Lakers responded with the next six points as Rayman, Bray, and CeCe Hacker each made layups in the scoring run, bringing the team within a pair of points (32-30).
Carson Nitz made a three-pointer with 4:19 left in the third quarter to keep the Lakers within two points of the visiting Panthers (35-33). As the final four minutes of the quarter played on, the Panthers maintained the lead as the score was 43-37 heading into the last quarter.
Hacker led the Lakers in the first minute of the fourth quarter as the freshman guard made five points to bring her team back within two points of their GLIAC opponent (44-42). Davenport would quickly regain a five point lead over Lake State but senior guard Mackenzie Kalchik hit a three-pointer with 6:44 left in the game to once again make it a two-point game (47-45).
Hacker's strong fourth quarter continued as she drove to the basket with 4:19 left on the clock to score on a layup to make it a one-point game (50-49). With 2:26 left in the game, Hacker tied the game at 52 with a made free throw and gave the Lakers the lead on her second free throw attempt. The Panthers regained the lead with 1:52 left in the game when Kenzie Wilkinson made a layup but redshirt-freshman made a giant three point shot to give the Lakers a two-point lead. The Lakers led 56-54 with 1:23 to play. Hacker made another free throw to put the Lakers up by three points (57-54) with :34 seconds on the clock.
Grace tied the game at 57 with :25 seconds left to play and the game would remain tied at the end of forty minutes, forcing overtime.
Overtime:
The extra five-minute session continued to feature evenly matched play between the two conference rivals. After the first minute of play, the Lakers led by a point (60-59) and Hacker made a free throw with 3:33 left in overtime to give her team a two-point advantage (61-59).
Davenport tied the game at 61 but Rayman made a layup to once again regain the lead. Bray, who had a career game in the win, made a pair of free throws with 1:07 left in the extra session to give her team a 65-63 lead. The Lakers held off the Panthers in the final minute to clinch the overtime win by a final score of 65-64.
Breaking Down the Win: Bray finished the game with a career-high 27 points as she drove the Laker offense in the victory. The senior went 8-for-13 from the field which included a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the three point line. In addition, Bray went 8-for-10 from the free throw line, which included the eventual game winning point in overtime.
Hacker ranked second on the team as the freshman scored 14 points, all of which came in the second half. Hacker led her team with seven assists while also adding eight rebounds in the win.
Rayman capped off the team's top three scorers in the win as she recorded 11 points for the Lakers as well as a career-best 20 rebounds. Rayman finished the game with seven offensive rebounds and 13 defensive rebounds. It marked the eighth double-double of the season for Rayman.
The Lakers finished the game with a 37.7 shooting percentage, going 20-for-53 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Panthers went 24-for-70 in the game to total a 34.3 shooting percentage. Lake State outrebounded Davenport, 44-37, in the game.
What's Next
The Lakers will return home to the Bud Cooper Gymnasium for a game against the Ferris State Bulldogs on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. The team will then travel to Midland, Mich. for a game against the Northwood University Timberwolves on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 1:00 p.m.
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