Opening Tip

SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State women's basketball travels across Michigan's Upper Peninsula this week for a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchups with Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.

The Lakers (4-12, 2-7 GLIAC) open the week tied with Ferris State for seventh place in the GLIAC North Division and open the week in Marquette against the Wildcats (10-6, 5-4 GLIAC) at 5:30 p.m., on Thursday. Saturday, LSSU heads to Houghton to take on the Huskies (10-4, 6-3 GLIAC) at 1 p.m. The Wildcats open the week tied with Northwood for fourth place in the GLIAC North Division, while MTU enters the week tied with Grand Valley State for second place in the GLIAC North.

Laker Notes

• Senior guard Mackenzie Edwards leads the Lakers this season and ranks 10th in overall GLIAC scoring at 14.6 points per game on the season.
• From behind the arc this season, Edwards ranks fifth among GLIAC players and 10^th nationally in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 45.7 percent on three-point field goals.
• With a career average of 9.6 points per game, Edwards currently sits at 938 career points at LSSU.
• Also lighting up the Lakers from deep, but not registering for the national statistics, has been freshman guard Claire Radtke who has connected on 47.5 percent of threes to rank fourth among GLIAC players.
• Sophomore starters Valerie Meissner (9.3 ppg) and Rachel Novotny (8.1 ppg) have provided a consistent balance of scoring for the Lakers this season while also leading the team in other categories.
• Meissner leads the Lakers with a GLIAC-best 5.0 assists per game.
• Novotny leads the Lakers in both rebounding with 5.4 rebounds per game and blocked shots with 1.3 blocks per game to tie for eighth among GLIAC players.
• In splitting time at center with Novotny, Tamara Novic has averaged 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in just 14.4 minutes of action per game this season.
• The junior center from Belgrade, Serbia, enters the week with the top overall field-goal percentage among GLIAC players at 60.4 percent.
• Radtke (8.2 ppg) is tied for 15^th among GLIAC players while producing 2.8 assists per game.
• The Lakers average 67.3 points per game, tying for sixth overall among GLIAC teams. Defensively the Lakers allow 69.4 points per game, ranking 11^th in the conference.
• From behind the arc this season the Lakers are clicking for a combined 41.0 percent, the top mark in the GLIAC and second-best mark nationally.
•  From the field, the Lakers rank fourth in overall field goal percentage (44.2 percent).
• At the free throw line, the Lakers rank fourth among GLIAC teams with an overall mark of 76.2 percent.

This Week's Matchups

Northern Michigan

The Wildcats enter Thursday's matchup on a three-game losing streak after spending the past two weeks on the road. At home this season, NMU has a 5-1 overall record, winning each of their last five home contests.

NMU features the league's second-best scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 59.2 points per game. The Wildcats also boast the GLIAC's third-best overall field goal percentage against, holding opponents to 38.1 percent from the field this season.

Senior guard Bre Gaspervich leads the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game and also chips in 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Fellow starter, sophomore guard Darby Youngstrom, averages 11.8 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per game.

Michigan Tech

MTU enters the week ranking fourth among GLIAC teams in points per game (69.9) and points per game allowed (61.5). At home this season, the Huskies are 4-1 overall.

The Huskies feature senior guard Morgan Anderson who ranks second in overall scoring among GLIAC players with 18.1 points per game and seventh overall in three-point field goal percentage (43.6). Anderson also leads the team with 3.4 assists per game.

Another member of the league's top-20 scorers, junior guard Brenna Heise averages 12.7 points and a team-high 5.1 rebounds per game.

Rounding out the starters to average double-digits in scoring, junior guard Kelli Guy has averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game this season.

Last Week (Ferris State 73-59, W | Grand Valley State 74-46, L)

After entering play last week as the victim of three consecutive close losses in GLIAC games, the Lakers cruised to a 72-59 victory over Ferris State on Thursday.

The Lakers made 24-of-47 field-goal attempts, hitting a season-high field-goal percentage of 51 percent in GLIAC play. Meissner and Edwards were a combined 10-of-21 from the field and scored 17 points each to lead LSSU. Meissner also made 5-of-8 three-point attempts.

Lake Superior State's biggest lead was 18 points. Ferris State (3-11 overall, 2-6 GLIAC) cut it to 11 points, 61-50, with 2:41 remaining. Radtke, who finished with 14 points, killed the Bulldogs' momentum with a three-pointer at 2:17.

LSSU made 10 three-pointers in its third straight game and was 15-of-25 at the free-throw line. Meissner, Edwards, and Radtke combined for 14 assists. Edwards, Radtke, and Novic had two steals each.

Against GVSU on Saturday, the Lakers fell 74-46 at home.

GVSU was 29-of-67 from the field to reach its second-highest field goal total of the season. The visiting Lakers also held LSSU to a season-low 15 field goals.

GVSU put the game out of reach early, building a 20-3 first-quarter lead and extending it to 33-12 at halftime. Taylor Lutz scored 14 points to lead four double-figure scorers for GVSU.

Radtke scored 13 points, and Edwards added 10 points and nine rebounds to lead LSSU. Lake Superior State shot 15-of-46 from the field, including 8-of-20 from three-point range, and made 8-of-9 free throws. The LSSU Lakers out-rebounded GVSU, 39-31.

A Look Ahead

Next week the Lakers remain on the road, continuing play in the North Division against Saginaw Valley on Jan. 26, and at Wayne State on Jan. 28.

The Lakers return home the following week, hosting Northwood on Monday, Jan. 30. That weekend the Lakers host NMU Feb. 2, and MTU on Feb. 4.