SAULT STE, MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team dropped a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game against the Ferris State Bulldogs by a final score of 70-47 on Thursday, Feb. 10 at the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
First Half:
The Lakers scored the first three points in the game as Makenzie Bray made a free throw to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead in the first minute and CeCe Hacker made a jump shot to put the team up, 3-0. The Bulldogs responded by scoring 10 of the game's next 12 points to hold a 10-5 lead with 6:05 left in the first quarter.
With 4:40 left in the first quarter, the Lakers regained the lead (11-10) after scoring back-to-back three pointers. Ella Bontrager netted the first three and Hacker followed with a basket from beyond the arc to put the Lakers up by a point.
Bray made a layup with 1:17 left in the quarter to bring the Lakers within two points (17-15) of the Bulldogs and the first quarter ended with the Lakers trailing by three points (18-15).
The two GLIAC rivals traded layups to open the second quarter with Rayman making a shot for the Lakers to keep the game within three points (20-17). With 7:18 left in the first half, Bray made her first three pointer of the game to cut the Lakers deficit to two points (22-20).
However, the Bulldogs would respond by going on a 10-point scoring run in the next stretch of play to build their lead to 32-20 with 3:36 left in the half. Brittany Bowman made a three pointer for the Lakers at 3:02 to stop the Bulldogs run and bring the Lakers back within single digits (32-23). The first half ended with Ferris State holding a 34-23 lead.
Second Half:
The Bulldogs started off the second half strong, scoring the first eight points of the third quarter to lead 42-23. Ferris held onto the 19-point lead until 4:44 of the third quarter as Hacker scored five straight points for the Lakers (jump shot, three pointer) to cut the lead to 14 points (44-30).
After the Bulldogs would go back up by 19 points, Bowman made her second three pointer of the game for the Lakers (49-33). In the final three minutes of the third quarter, Hacker made two more field goals for the Lakers and the quarter would end with the Lakers trailing, 52-37.
Kalchik made a shot from behind the three point line at 7:49 of the fourth quarter and followed with two made free throws in the same minute of play to bring the Lakers within 13 points of the Bulldogs (56-43). Kalchik would add a layup later in the quarter (60-45) but Ferris would control the final five minutes of the game to take the win by a final score of 70-47.
Breaking Down the Game: Hacker led the team in points against the Bulldogs with 14, as the freshman guard tied her single-game high. It marked the second straight game Hacker posted 14 points. Bray ranked second on the team with 10 points while Kalchik rounded out the team's top three scorers with nine points against the Bulldogs.
Rayman led the team in rebounds with 14 while Kalchik ranked first among her teammates in assists with four.
The Lakers finished the game with a 37.0 shooting percentage, going 17-for-46 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Bulldogs went 27-for-65 in the game to total a 41.5 shooting percentage. Ferris State outrebounded Lake State, 40-30, in the game.
What's Next
The Lakers will close out the weekend pair of games on the road against the Northwood University Timberwolves on Saturday, Feb. 10. The game is set for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff at the Riepma Arena in Midland, Mich.
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