SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team dropped a 78-50 game to the Northern Michigan Wildcats in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game on Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich. With the loss, the Lakers overall record sits at 2-6 while the team's conference record is at 1-3 after the first two weekends of GLIAC competition.
The first quarter between the two Upper Peninsula rivals was high scoring as the opening ten minutes ended with the Lakers trailing 25-17 to the Wildcats. Through the first two minutes of play, the Lakers trailed 7-4 as the team's two field goals were scored by CeCe Hacker and Mattison Rayman. At the 7:35 mark of the quarter, Mackenzie Bray made a jump shot to pull within a point of the Wildcats (7-6).
Northern Michigan then responded with an 11-point run to build a 18-8 lead over the Lakers with 2:29 left on the clock in the opening quarter. The Lakers would try to cut the deficit before the close of the first quarter but the Wildcats held an eight point lead after 10 minutes of play (25-17).
Hacker made a three pointer in the first minute of the second quarter to bring the Lakers within seven points of the Wildcats (27-20) and Ella Bontrager followed with another three to make it a four-point game with 7:24 on the clock (27-23). The Wildcats would not let the Lakers come any closer as the home team built a 12 point lead with just over four minutes left in the half (36-24).
At the half, the Lakers trailed by 11 points (41-30) as the team scored the final three points of the second quarter.
At 7:28 of the third quarter, Hacker scored the first points of the second half as she made a three point jump shot to bring the Lakers back within single digits (41-33).Bray made a jump shot at 6:16 as the Lakers stayed within eight points of the Wildcats (43-35). However, the Wildcats answered with a run of 15 of the game's next 16 points to go up 58-36 with two minutes left in the quarter. Rayman scored the final four points of the quarter to trail by 18 points (58-40) after 30 minutes of play.
In the final quarter of the game, the Wildcats would hold onto the lead as the team outscored the Lakers by a 20-10 margin to take the win by a 78-50 final score.
Breaking Down the Game:
Rayman led the Lakers in the game with 18 points as she went 5-for-13 from the field as well as 8-for-11 from the free throw line. The junior forward led the team with eight rebounds while also adding two blocks and a steal against the Wildcats. Hacker joined Rayman as the only other Laker to post double digits in points as the freshman guard totaled 10 points, which included two three pointers. Hacker led her teammates in assists with four.
The Lakers finished the game with a 36.0 shooting percentage, going 18-for-50 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Wildcats went 29-for-69 in the game to total a 42.0 shooting percentage. Northern Michigan outrebounded Lake State, 41-25, in the game.
Up Next
The Lakers will take part in a holiday tournament in Saint Leo, Fla. on Saturday, Dec. 18 and Sunday, Dec. 19. The first game will be played against the tournament host Saint Leo at 2:00 p.m. and the Lakers will play Southern New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m.
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