SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team will return home for a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) games this week as the team hosts the No. 8-ranked Grand Valley State Lakers and the Davenport Panthers. The Lakers will take on GVSU on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m. and host the Panthers on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 3:00 p.m. in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
Last Time Out
The Lakers are coming off a three-game road trip against GLIAC opponents, Wayne State, Saginaw Valley State and Davenport. Following the weekend, the Lakers hold a 2-13 overall record and a 1-8 mark in conference play.
Lake Superior State fell to the Warriors on Thursday, Jan. 27 by a final score of 75-50, with senior forward Makenzie Bray scoring a career-high 24 points in the game for the Lakers. The team followed with a 73-43 loss to Saginaw Valley on Saturday afternoon. Junior forward Mattison Rayman led the team with 17 points in the game while Bray posted her first double-double of the season in the loss.
In a makeup game against Davenport on Monday afternoon, the Lakers fell in a competitive game to the Panthers by a final score of 64-62 in Grand Rapids. Rayman and Bray drove the Laker offense in the game as the pair combined for 37 of the team's points against the Panthers. Rayman led the team with 19 points in the game while Bray posted another double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
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 15 games this season, the Lakers average 53.3 points per game on a 37.1 shooting percentage and 32.2 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 15 games this season, the trio of Rayman, Bray, and Woughter have been leading the way offensively for the Lakers. All three Lakers rank within the top-17 scorers in the GLIAC this season. Rayman ranks first on the team with 13.6 points per game while Bray (12.5 ppg) and Woughter (11.9 ppg) follow. Rayman enters this weekend's contests ranking eighth in the GLIAC in points per game and second in the conference in both rebounds per game (9.6) and blocks per game (1.3). The junior forward's 45.7 shooting percentage ranks 14th in the conference this season. Bray, who enters the weekend coming off back-to-back double-doubles for the Lakers, ranks in the top-10 in the conference in rebounds (5.7 per game).
Junior Kelly Olthof leads the Lakers in shooting percentage this season with a 50.0% mark while freshman guard CeCe Hacker leads her teammates in assists per game this season with 2.7 per game.
The Grand Valley State Lakers
The Grand Valley State Lakers have posted a 17-1 overall record this season and a 10-1 mark in conference play. GVSU has averaged 65.8 points per game this year on a 42.4 shooting percentage while also adding 39.1 rebounds per game. The Lakers have three players that are averaging double-digit point totals this season, including the team's leading scorer junior guard Emily Spitzley. Spitzley has averaged 13.2 points per game this year for the Lakers to rank 10th in the conference in scoring this season. Freshman forward Rylie Bisballe and freshman guard Ellie Droste round out the team's top three scorers as the pair has averaged 12.3 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. With 6.7 rebounds per game this season, Bisballe leads the Lakers in rebounds. The Lakers are led by head coach Mike Williams, who is in his seventh season in the role at GVSU.
The Davenport University Panthers
The Davenport Panthers will take on the Lakers for the second time in a week as the Panthers earned a 64-62 victory over LSSU on Monday afternoon. Through 20 games this season, Davenport has totaled 2-18 overall record and a 1-11 mark in GLIAC competition. The Panthers average 56.0 points per game this season on 1 32.4 shooting percentage while recording 36.0 rebounds per game. Davenport is led by senior guard Toni Grace who is averaging 12.5 points per game. Senior guard Loni Sales ranks second on the team with 9.4 points per game this season and junior guard Scout Nelson rounds out the top three scorers (8.5 ppg). Freshman forward Lillee Gustafson, who has averaged 5.8 points per game in her first collegiate season, ranks third in the GLIAC this season in rebounds per game with 8.3. Davenport is coached by Travis Schuba, who was announced as the team's interim head coach last April.
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