The Lake Superior State women’s basketball team dropped a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) weekend series to the Davenport University Panthers with a final scores 79-49 on Friday, February 5 and 77-57 on Saturday, February 6 at the DU Student Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Game Two (February 6)
First Half
The Lakers opened the game with a strong first quarter, outscoring the Panthers, 17-14. Jaden Wilder opened the scoring in the game with a layup on the first play to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead.
After back-and-forth scoring between the two teams, the Lakers fell behind (12-10) but a layup from Mattison Rayman followed by a three pointer from Wilder would put the Lakers back ahead, 13-12 at the halfway point of the quarter.
Taylor Bryant, who led the Lakers with six points in the first quarter, who capitalized on a defensive rebound and scored on a jump shot to give the Lakers a 17-14 lead heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Lakers offense struggled to break through the Panthers defense. LSSU scored eight points while Davenport put up 26 points in the quarter to take a 40-25 lead at the half.
Second Half
The Lakers would respond with a strong third quarter against the Panthers as each team scored 18 points.
Freshman Hailey Voelker would score the first five points for the Lakers in the third quarter as she made a layup and added a three pointer. Rayman, who led the Lakers with eight points in the quarter, scored six straight points for the Lakers to cut Davenport’s lead to 14 points (51-36).
Jozie Bontrager would score on a shot from beyond the arc with 1:24 and the third quarter would close with the Lakers trailing by 15 points, 58-43.
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers were unable to rally and overcome the deficit. The Lakers would score 14 points compared to 19 points from the Panthers and the game would end in a 77-57 final.
Breaking Down the Game
Rayman led the team with her second straight double-double as she recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Wilder joined Rayman as the two Lakers with double-digit point totals in the game as she posted 11 points against the Panthers.
The Lakers finished the game with a 29.7 shooting percentage, going 19-for-64 against Davenport. On the other end of the floor, the Panthers went 27-for-65 in the game to total a 41.5 shooting percentage. Lake Superior outrebounded Davenport, 43-42, in the game.
Game One (February 5)
The first quarter of play was high scoring between the two teams as the Lakers scored 16 points while the Panthers held the lead after the first ten minutes with 22 points scored.
Jaden Wilder continued her strong play for the Lakers, scoring a three pointer to give the Lakers a 3-2 lead over Davenport in the first two minutes of play. Makenzie Bray added a field goal for the Lakers as they took a 5-4 lead over the home team with 7:10 left in the first quarter.
Davenport would then go on a 10 point scoring run to take a 14-5 lead over the Lakers by the halfway point of the first quarter. With just over a minute left in the opening ten minutes, the Lakers would add a pair of points from Mattison Rayman and three points from Bray to close the half trailing, 22-16.
The Lakers offense struggled in the second quarter, scoring only four points while the Panthers built upon their lead scoring 15 points in the quarter. The first half ended with the Lakers trailing, 37-20.
Second Half
The Lakers responded with a stronger third quarter, as Lake Superior scored 18 points while the Panthers added 21 points.
LSSU scored the first five points of the quarter, to cut the Panthers lead to 12 points. Rayman made a free throw and added a layup while Hailey Voelker recorded a layup after a steal. Rayman finished the third quarter with a team-leading eight points.
With just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Wilder added a three pointer for the Lakers and Bray would make a shot from behind the arc. The third quarter closed with the Panthers holding a 20 point lead, 58-38.
In the final ten minutes of play, the Lakers were not able to overcome the lead that Davenport built in the game. The Lakers would drop the first game of the series against the Panthers by a final score of 79-49.
Breaking Down the Game
Rayman led the team with a double-double as she recorded 18 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Rayman scored on 10-of-12 free throw attempts.
The Lakers finished the game with a 25.9 shooting percentage, going 14-for-54 against Davenport. On the other end of the floor, the Panthers went 30-for-69 in the game to total a 43.5 shooting percentage. The Lakers scored on 17 of 21 free throw attempts to total an 81.0% percentage. Lake Superior outrebounded Northern Michigan, 42-41, in the game.
What’s Next
The Lakers will return to the Bud Cooper Gymnasium next weekend to match up against the Northwood University Timberwolves in a weekend series. The first game is set for a 6:00 p.m tipoff on Friday, February 12 while the closing game is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m start on Saturday, February 13.
Source: LSSU Lakers Athletics
