SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team will host the Purdue Northwest Pride in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) two-game series on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 17 at 1:00 p.m. in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. 

Due to COVID-19 related changes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) scheduling process for the 2021 season, teams will play a pair of games against the same opponent each weekend. 

The Lakers 

Lake Superior State opened the 2020-21 season falling to the Wayne State Warriors in a pair of road games last weekend at the Matthaei Basketball Facility in Detroit, Mich. Despite very even play between the Lakers and Warriors in the first half of each game, the Lakers dropped the first game of the series by a final score of 75-52 and the second game, 79-61. 

The Lakers roster is highlighted by a number of new faces with many making their LSSU debut last weekend against the Warriors. Lake Superior State played the series last weekend with a shortened bench, as a number of players were unavailable due to COVID-19 related protocols. 

Sophomore transfer Margot Woughter had a strong first weekend as a Laker as she averaged a team-leading 13.5 points per game after scoring 11 points on Monday and following with 16 points in the game on Tuesday. Woughter finished the weekend with a 38.5 shooting percentage. 

In Tuesday's game, freshman Abbey Krugh led the Lakers with 17 points, as she went 5-10 on three point attempts in the game. Krugh, who totaled a 46.2 shooting percentage from the three point line, also averaged 5.5 rebounds per game in her first weekend of collegiate play. 

Senior Rebecca Villanueva led the Lakers in points on Monday with 13 and averaged 4.5 rebounds per game against the Warriors. Villaneuva's classmate, Taylor Bryant, led the Lakers in rebounds against Wayne State with an average of six rebounds per game. 

Last Season's Series

Last season, the Lakers and the Pride played each other twice with each team winning one game. Purdue Northwest won the first meeting by a final score of 54-46 on Jan. 23, 2020 in a road game and the Lakers would respond with a 65-63 overtime win on the road. 

Scouting the Pride

Purdue Northwest will play on the road for the first time this season as the team competed against Michigan Tech at home last week to open their GLIAC season. The Pride are led by second year head coach Courtney Locke, who led the Pride to a 6-22 (5-15 GLIAC) record in her first season. In this year's GLIAC preseason poll, the Pride were picked to finish fifth in the North Division this season. 

In the team's first weekend of play, Purdue Northwest faced off against Michigan Tech, dropping both games to the Huskies. The Pride fell in the series opener by a score of 67-44 and would lose in the second game by just two points, 58-56.  

Last weekend, the Pride had five different players post double-digit point totals in one of the games in the series. In the first game of the series, Savaya Brockington and Dash Shaw tied for the team-lead with 10 points each while Brockington led the Pride with nine rebounds. In the closing game of the series against Michigan Tech, three Purdue Northwest players posted 10 or more points - Danielle Nennig (11 pts.), Anjel Galbraith (11 pts.) and Molly DeValkenaere (10 pts.). DeValkenaere posted a double-double for the Pride as she added a team-best 11 rebounds in the game. 

Brockington, who was a preseason All-GLIAC selection, returns to the Pride for her sophomore season after leading the Pride in points (14.3), rebounds (4.7), assists (3.6) and steals (1.7) in 2019-20. Brockington started all 28 games as a true freshman for the Pride in 2019-20. 

Follow the Lakers

Due to State of Michigan, GLIAC and Lake Superior State University mandates, fans are not currently permitted to attend any Laker sporting events. Even though spectators cannot currently attend Laker home games, there are still a number of ways that fans will be able to follow the game action. All Laker home games during the 2021 season will be available to watch live on Stretch TV. For more information or to sign up for a subscription, visit https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lssu/. Fans can also tune in to the radio broadcast on ESPN 1400, the official radio station of Laker basketball.

For more information, visit lssulakers.com

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