GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team dropped a close game to the Davenport Panthers on Monday, Jan. 31 in Grand Rapids, Mich. by a final score of 64-62 in a Great Lakers Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest.
First Half:
The Lakers took a 4-0 lead over the Panthers in the opening minute of the game as Mattison Rayman and Makenzie Bray each scored on layups. Freshman CeCe Hacker gave the Lakers a 7-4 lead at 6:03 of the first quarter with a pull up shot.
As the first quarter played on, the Lakers held onto the lead as Ella Bontrager made the team's first three-pointer of the game with 2:23 left on the clock (12-8). Kelly Olthof made a hook shot with 1:47 left in the opening quarter to give the Lakers a six point advantage. The Panthers would add the final four points of the quarter to trail 14-12 after 10 minutes of play.
Within the first minute of the second quarter, the Panthers tied the game at 14 after Toni Grace made a pair of free throws. Bray regained the Laker lead at 9:22 of the quarter when she made a three point shot to put her team ahead, 17-14.
The Lakers three-point shooting continued to lead the team as Ella Bontrager and Kalchik each made baskets from beyond the arc to give the Lakers a 23-19 lead through two minutes of the second quarter.
Lake Superior State would extend their lead to double-digits over Davenport as Rayman made a pair of layups and Olthof scored on a three-point shot to give the Lakers a 30-20 lead with 5:11 left in the half. At the 3:12 mark, Hacker made a three-pointer to extend the team's lead to 11 points (33-22).
Davenport would score six of the final eight points in the first half but the Lakers would hold a seven-point lead over their conference rival (35-28) after 20 minutes of play.
Second Half:
The third quarter was evenly matched between the Lakers and the Panthers as each team recorded 12 points in the frame. Davenport scored the first six points of the second half to pull within a point (35-34) of the Lakers by the 7:19 mark.
With 4:11 left on the clock in the quarter, Davenport took a two-point lead over the Lakers but Hacker's second three of the game regained the Laker lead (41-40). Hacker's three-pointer began a nine point scoring run by the Lakers as the team held the Panthers off the board for the final 3:47 of the third quarter. Rayman recorded four of the nine points for the Lakers in the rally as the team took a 47-40 lead into the final quarter of the GLIAC game.
In the first scoring play of the fourth quarter, Bray netted a three pointer to give the Lakers a 10 point lead (50-40) with 9:16 left in the game. Davenport scored the game's next three points but Rayman made a layup to keep the Lakers lead at nine points (52-43).
At 5:04 of the final quarter, Grace made a three pointer for the Panthers and less than a minute later, Kenzie Wilkinson made a second three as the home team came back within four points (54-50) of the Lakers. Davenport's Scout Nelson made a pair of free throws with 4:03 left on the clock to cut the deficit to two points (54-52) but Rayman made a layup on the next possession to give the Lakers a four point advantage (56-52).
Wilkinson made her second three of the quarter at 3:40 to make it a one-point difference (56-55) and Nelson made a pair of free throws with 2:39 left in the game to give the Panthers the lead. Nelson tallied six consecutive points for the Panthers as the team went ahead by five points (61-56) with :44 seconds left in regulation.
The Lakers made a push in the final minute of play to regain the lead but were unable to regain the lead and fell by a final score of 64-62.
Breaking Down the Game: Rayman and Bray drove the Laker offense in the game as the pair combined for 37 of the team's points against the Panthers. Rayman led the team with 19 points in the game as she went 7-for-10 from the field and 5-for-7 from the free throw line against the Panthers. Rayman ranked second on the team in rebounds with nine in 25 minutes on the floor. Bray joined Rayman as the team's other double-digit scorer in the game as she posted 18 points against Davenport. With 12 rebounds in the game, Bray posted her second double-double of the season as well as a new single-game career high in rebounds. The senior forward was tied for the team in assists with four.
Ella Bontrager rounded out the top three scorers on the Lakers in the game as she totaled nine points to set a new single-game career high. Bontrager's nine points included a pair of three-pointers. The senior guard also posted four assists in the game.
The Lakers finished the game with a 44.2 shooting percentage, going 23-for-52 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Panthers went 21-for-57 in the game to total a 36.8 shooting percentage. Lake State outrebounded Davenport, 37-33, in the game.
What's Next
The Lakers will return home to the Bud Cooper Gymnasium for a pair of GLIAC games this week, starting with a Thursday evening game on Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m. against the Grand Valley State Lakers. The Lakers will then match up against the Davenport Panthers on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 1:00 p.m.
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