SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team is scheduled to play a trio of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) games this week. The Lakers travel to Detroit, Mich. to take on the Wayne State Warriors on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. and will follow with a trip to University Center, Mich. for a conference game against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29. The stretch will wrap up on Monday, Jan. 31 as the Lakers take on the Davenport Panthers in Grand Rapids, Mich. at 12:00 p.m. in a game that was rescheduled from Jan. 13.
Last Time Out
After nearly a month between games, the Lakers returned to competition last week as the team took on Ferris State and Northwood in a pair of GLIAC games. Following the weekend, the Lakers hold a 2-10 overall record and a 1-5 mark in conference play.
Last week, the Lakers played a road game against Ferris State on Thursday, Jan. 20 and fell by a final score of 90-38. Junior forward Mattison Rayman led the team with 13 points and nine rebounds against the Bulldogs. Senior forward Makenzie Bray ranked second on the team with 12 points in the game.
On Saturday afternoon, the Lakers dropped a 74-46 game to the Northwood Timberwolves at home. Rayman once again led the team as she posted 16 points and 11 rebounds in the game to record her sixth double-double of the season. Bray joined Rayman as the only other double-digit point scorer in the game as she totaled 10 points for the Lakers.
The Lakers
The Lakers are led by Brandon Lokken, is in his fifth season in the role, while assistant coach Allison Todd begins her third season with the Lakers. Through the first 12 games of the season, the Lakers average 53.8 points per game on a 36.4 shooting percentage and 32.5 rebounds per game.
The team will look to a number of upperclassmen to help lead the Lakers after coming off a challenging 2020-21 season as the team felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Junior forward Mattison Rayman, who was named Second Team All-GLIAC last season, will be the driving force behind the Lakers after coming off a great sophomore season. Senior forward Makenzie Bray will be looked upon by Coach Lokken after a solid season for the Lakers last year while junior guard Margot Woughter will play a big role for the Lakers after missing most of last season with an injury.
Lake Superior State will also look for contributions from junior forward Kelly Olthof, sophomore guard Jaden Wilder, sophomore guard Jozie Bontrager, and junior guard Carson Nitz. The team will have one newcomer this season, CeCe Hacker, a freshman guard from Omaha, Neb.
Leading the Lakers
Through 12 games this season, the trio of Woughter, Bray and Rayman have been leading the way offensively for the Lakers. All three Lakers rank within the top-21 scorers in the GLIAC this season. Rayman ranks first on the team with 13.4 points per game while Woughter (11.9 ppg) and Bray (11.2 ppg) follow. Rayman enters this weekend's contest ranking 10th in the GLIAC in points per game and second in the conference in both rebounds per game (10.3) and blocks per game (1.4). Rayman is one of only two players in the conference to average 10 or more rebounds per game this season.
Junior Kelly Olthof leads the Lakers in shooting percentage this season with a 52.3% mark while freshman guard CeCe Hacker leads her teammates in assists per game this season with 2.8 per game.
The Wayne State Warriors
The Wayne State Warriors have posted a 10-4 overall record and a 6-3 mark in conference play this season. Wayne State has averaged 68.6 points per game this season on a 42.2 shooting percentage while also adding a conference-best 43.6 rebounds per game. The Warriors are led by the duo of senior guard Kate Sherwood and senior forward Sam Cherney. Sherwood leads the team with 13.9 points per game with a GLIAC-high 47.1 shooting percentage from three this season. Cherney ranks second on the Warriors with 10.9 points per game while also leading the conference with 11.7 rebounds per game. The Warriors are led by Carrie Lohr, who is in the midst of her 11th season as head coach at Wayne State.
The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals
The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals have combined for a 10-4 overall record through 14 games played, which includes a 5-2 record in GLIAC competition. The Cardinals have averaged 68.1 points per game on a 45.7 shooting percentage while adding 34.7 rebounds per game. Saginaw Valley is led by reigning GLIAC South Player of the Week, Kaitlyn Zarycki, who currently leads the conference with 21.6 points per game and ranks second in the GLIAC with a 56.1 shooting percentage this season. Most recently, Zarycki recorded a 27-point game in the Cardinals 59-57 loss to Wisconsin-Parkside last weekend. In addition to Zarycki, SVSU has three other players who have averaged double-digit point totals this season: junior forward Tori DePerry (11.4 ppg), senior guard Maddie Maloney (11.3 ppg), and senior guard Maddie Barrie (10.1 ppg). The Cardinals are led by head coach Jenny Pruett, who is in her third season in the role at Saginaw Valley.
The Davenport University Panthers
The Davenport Panthers have totaled a 1-16 overall record through 17 games played and have gone 0-9 in conference play this season. The Panthers average 55.1 points per game this season on a 31.5 shooting percentage while recording 35.8 rebounds per game. Davenport is led by senior guard Toni Grace who is averaging 11.7 points per game. Senior guard Loni Sales ranks second on the team with 9.4 points per game this season. Freshman forward Lillee Gustafson, who has averaged 5.5 points per game in her first collegiate season, ranks third in the GLIAC this season in rebounds per game with 7.9. Davenport is coached by Travis Schuba, who was announced as the team's interim head coach last April.
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