Wayne State (11-14, 6-12 GLIAC)
Lake Superior (10-14, 6-11 GLIAC)
SERIES:
WSU trails Lake Superior 38-26 (first met: 1975)
LAST MEETING:
WSU 70, Lake Superior 67, Nov. 19, 2011
VIDEO:
GAME 26 STORYLINE
Wayne State will end the season at Lake Superior after dropping five straight to GLIAC North opponents. The Warriors, win or lose, will finish with the most wins since the 2007-08 season (15), and the second-most in the last eight years.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Lake Superior leads the all-time series 38-26. The Warriors have won the last three meetings, including a 70-67 win over the Lakers in a non-GLIAC contest on Nov. 19, 2011.
FERRIS STATE RECAP
Wayne State dropped its fourth straight game falling 81-63 to GLIAC North-leading Ferris State on Thursday night at the Matthaei.
The Warriors had an early 3-2 lead following a triple by
Paige Sickmiller, but the Bulldogs regained the advantage with an 8-0 run.
FSU's lead was never less than four, and was as much as 11 (32-21) with just under five minutes remaining in the first half before WSU went on a 12-5 run to pull within four (37-33) at the break as Sickmiller sank a jumper in the final seconds.
The Warriors out-shot the Bulldogs 52 percent (14-of-27) to 37 percent (13-of-35) in the opening 20 minutes, but the Bulldogs' five made three-pointers combined with six made free throws was the difference in the first half.
Ferris State would open the second half with an 11-2 run, but the Warriors would battle back and make it a five-point deficit at 53-48 after a Sickmiller triple on a feed from
Stefani Munro at the 13:18 mark.
Ferris State would then go on a 21-4 scoring burst over the next six minutes to put the game out of reach. The Bulldogs shot 61 percent (17-of-28) in the second half to just 25 percent (7-of-28) for the Warriors.
The Bulldogs' Nikki Arner led all scorers with 27 points.
GRAND VALLEY RECAP
In the final home game of the 2011-12 campaign, Wayne State suffered a 72-55 setback to Grand Valley on Saturday afternoon at the Matthaei.
The Lakers scored first on a triple by Briauna Taylor and held a 9-2 lead three minutes into the contest.
The Warriors battled back to cut the deficit to one (9-8) following six straight points by Colbert. GVSU responded with eight consecutive points and WSU was only able to get within three points (17-14 and 19-16) on a couple of occasions. In fact, the visitors ended the first half on an 8-0 run for a 14-point advantage (41-27) at intermission.
Shooting problems plagued the Warriors in the first half as the hosts shot 33 percent (10-of-30), compared to 50 percent (14-of-28) for the Lakers.
In the second half, the Warrior defense held Grand Valley without a field goal for the first seven-plus minutes, but the Lakers were able to cash in on seven of their eight free throws in that span. Wayne State was held to just four points in the same time.
Overall, the Lakers out-shot the Warriors 43 percent (21-of-49) to 35 percent (20-of-58). GVSU scored 22 points off 18 WSU turnovers.
Taylor led all scorers with 26 points. Colbert recorded 14 to lead Wayne State, while
Amelia Davis finished with a season-best 12 points, just missing a career-high (13).
ON THE BENCH
Carrie Lohr is 11-14 as the head coach of the women's basketball program. She was named the 12th head coach in program history on May 11 after serving as the head coach at St. Clair County Community College (SC4) in Port Huron for nine seasons (2002-11). Lohr had a record of 166-106 (.610) in her nine years with the Skippers.
Justin Rees is also a first-year head coach for the Lakers. He has a record of 10-14. Rees joined the LSSU staff after spending time as an assistant coach at both Ferris State and Maine.
SCOUTING LAKE SUPERIOR
The Lakers are in the midst of a homestand to close out 2011-12. LSSU defeated Northwood 64-53 last Saturday.
They are led by the GLIAC's third-best scorer, junior forward Maria Balzejewski, who is averaging 16.5 ppg and shooting at 46.5 percent (11th in the league).
Senior forward Cassy Schemberger is the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 7.8 rpg. She ranks 10th in the GLIAC.
Senior forward Sara Cubr ranks 10th in the GLIAC in three-point field goal percentage at 37.3 percent (44-of-118).
GLIAC PLAYOFFS
The top three teams from each division make the tournament, followed by the next two best teams, regardless of division.
Currently, three teams are in position to finish third in the North Division. Northern Michigan and Grand Valley are separated by just a half game. Lake Superior trails Grand Valley by one game.
Findlay is in position to clinch the seventh seed and leads NMU by one game and Grand Valley by a half game.
The final full playoff picture will be determined on the last day of the season (Feb. 23).
Ashland and Ferris State have both clinched quarter-final home games.
