SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team earned a 68-58 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) win over the Purdue Northwest Pride on Saturday, Dec. 4 at the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. With the win, the Lakers overall record sits at 2-4 while the team's conference record is 1-1 after the opening weekend of the GLIAC competition.
First Half:
Mattison Rayman, Mackenzie Bray and Margot Woughter each made layups in the opening two minutes of play as the Lakers held a 6-2 lead. Woughter followed with a run of six consecutive points as she made four three throws and a jump shot. With 3:50 left on the clock, the Lakers had built a nine-point lead (16-7) over the Pride.
Woughter continued her strong first quarter for the Lakers as she added two more field goals in the closing two minutes. The junior guard posted a team-leading 12 points in the first quarter as the Lakers held a 20-12 lead after ten minutes of play.
Makenzie Bray recorded three points in the first minute of the second quarter as the Lakers lead extended to double-digits over the Pride (23-12). The Pride would respond by going on a 15-point scoring run to grab the lead for the first time in the game. With 2:36 remaining in the first half, the Pride led by four points (27-23). Bray ended the rally by Purdue Northwest with a three pointer to pull back within a point (27-26). Kelly Olthof added two layups in the final minute, including one that was set up by a beautiful pass by Bray, to give the Lakers a 30-29 lead at the close of the first half.
Second Half:
The Lakers had a strong third quarter, outscoring the Pride 16-10 in the frame. Lake State scored the first three field goals of the third quarter to build a seven point lead over the Pride in the first two minutes (36-29). Purdue Northwest followed with six consecutive points to pull back within a point of the Lakers (36-35) just past the halfway point of the quarter.
However, the Lakers would not let the Pride come any closer before the end of the quarter. Olthof and Woughter both netted layups while Bray made a jumper from beyond the arc to give the Lakers an eight point advantage with 1:56 left on the clock (43-35). At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers led by seven points, 46-39.
The Lakers kept the Pride from tightening the lead in the early stages of the fourth quarter as Jozie Bontrager's made free throw with 6:31 on the clock gave the Lakers a 10-point lead (51-41).
Purdue Northwest pulled within four points with just over five minutes left in regulation (52-48). Ella Bontrager made consecutive free throws and followed with a layup as the Lakers regained an eight point lead (56-48) with 4:37 left on the clock.
Woughter added a pair of layups as the home team kept the eight point lead (60-52) with 2:34 left in the conference matchup. The Pride continued to chip away at the Lakers lead in the closing minutes as the visitors came within five points of tying the game with under a minute remaining in the game (63-58).
The Lakers would close out the game strong to earn their first conference win of the season by a final score of 68-58.
Breaking Down the Win:
Woughter led the Lakers as the junior guard had a career game against Purdue Northwest. Woughter with a career-high 23 points in the game as she went 8-for-16 in the game to also set a new career-high in single game field goals (8). The guard went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line in the game while totaling seven rebounds, also a new career-high.
Bray ranked second in points as she totaled 15 points in the win for the Lakers going 5-for-8, including 2-for-4 from three. The senior forward added six assists and five rebounds in the victory.
Rayman rounded out the top three scorers for the Lakers as she posted a double-double with a team-leading 11 rebounds and 10 points in the win.
Freshman CeCe Hacker led the Lakers in assists with nine in the win.
The Lakers finished the game with a 53.5 shooting percentage, going 23-for-43 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Pride went 23-for-64 in the game to total a 35.9 shooting percentage. Lake Superior State outrebounded Purdue Northwest, 34-24, in the game.
Up Next
The Lakers will continue GLIAC play on the road next weekend as the team travels across the Upper Peninsula to take on Michigan Tech at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 9 and Northern Michigan at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11.
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