SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball opened the 2019-20 with a 70-62 overtime win in an exhibition game against the Rochester University Warriors on Tuesday, Oct. 29 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium. Rochester University is a member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
The Lakers and the Warriors were evenly matched through the first quarter as the teams were tied at 20 at the end of the first ten minutes of play. Lake State would build onto the lead through the second and third quarters as the Lakers outscored Rochester by totals of 15-10 and 17-11. Rochester, however, would not let the scoreboard dictate the final quarter of regulation as the Warriors added 19 points compared to the Lakers eight. At the end of the fourth quarter, the two teams were tied at 60 points apiece. In the five minute overtime period, the Lakers would clinch the win as they netted 10 points as opposed to the Warriors four. The exhibition game ended in a final of 70-64.
"I'm proud of the resiliency we showed tonight. I thought we did some good things early but then had a drought in the 4th. Rochester is a good team who is well coached," said Head Coach Brandon Lokken. "They put a big run on us in the second half. We made enough plays late to pull out the win. That experience is going to help us down the line. Excited to get back to practice and clean up things heading into the regular season."
In her first appearance as a Laker, freshman Mattison Rayman led the team with 22 points and 17 rebounds in 36:21 minutes played in the game. Rayman's play was especially strong in the first half of the game as she was a key component to the Lakers solid start. Senior guard Claire Radtke notched 15 points in her 40:33 minutes in the game and her five three-pointers was the most among the Lakers. Senior forward Lexie Khon led Lake State in playing time in the game with a total of 42:48 minutes. Khon scored 13 points for the Lakers and also collected nine rebounds. Guard Jenna Gregory, who registered eight points in 39:46 minutes, and guard Sadie DeWildt, whose six assists led the team, rounded out the starting five for the Lakers.
The Lakers will return to action as Lake State will host a non-conference four-team tournament on Friday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov. 9 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium. The Lakers will play Malone at 5:00 p.m. on Friday and Alderson Broaddus on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
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