SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team will close out the regular season this weekend in a pair of home Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) games against their U.P. rivals. The Lakers will play the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. and will wrap up the 2021-22 schedule with a game against the Michigan Tech Huskies on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m. Prior to Saturday's tipoff, the team will hold a ceremony honoring the team's graduating seniors: Ella Bontrager, Makenzie Bray, and Mackenzie Kalchik.
Last Time Out
The Lakers return to the court following a weekend road split against Purdue Northwest and Wisconsin-Parkside. Lake Superior State earned a 62-58 victory over the PNW Pride on Friday, Feb. 18 and dropped an 87-66 contest to the Rangers on Saturday, Feb. 19 in Kenosha, Wisc.
In Friday afternoon's victory, the Lakers were led offensively by Makenzie Bray who totaled 21 points in the win as she went 8-for-14 from the field. 11 of Bray's 21 points came in the final quarter. Freshman CeCe Hacker followed with 12 points in the win, including a team-leading two three-pointers. Rayman, who tied her single-game career-high in rebounds with 20 in the win, rounded out the team's top three scorers with 11 points against the Pride.
Against Parkside on Saturday, Bray continued to be the Lakers leader offensively as she recorded a career-high 30 points for her team against the Rangers The senior forward went 11-for-22 from the field, which included two three-pointers and also made six of eight free throws in the game. Bray also added two rebounds and a pair of assists for the Lakers. Rayman posted 12 points and 10 rebounds, which led the Lakers, as she recorded her 11th double-double of the season and her second of the weekend.
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 22 games this season, the Lakers average 52.8 points per game on a 36.7 shooting percentage and 31.7 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 22 games this season, the trio of Rayman, Bray, and Woughter have been leading the way offensively for the Lakers. Both Bray and Rayman rank in the top-13 scorers in the GLIAC this season and Woughter joins her teammates as the third Laker to average double-digits in points per game. Bray leads the team with 14.5 points per game as she ranks fifth among all conference players after her impressive weekend of play against Purdue Northwest and Wisconsin-Parkside. Rayman's 12.5 points per game rank 13th among her conference peers. Woughter has averaged 10.3 points per game this season. Rayman enters this weekend's contests ranking second in the conference in both rebounds per game (10.5) and blocks per game (1.4). The junior forward is one of two players in the conference this season to average 10 or more rebounds per game.
Junior Kelly Olthof leads the Lakers in shooting percentage this season with a 48.5% mark while freshman guard CeCe Hacker leads her teammates in assists per game this season with 3.0 per game, which is tied for eighth in the GLIAC this season.
The Northern Michigan Wildcats
The Northern Michigan Wildcats have posted an 11-14 overall record and a 6-12 mark in conference play this season. The Wildcats have averaged 56.5 points per game this season on a 37.0 shooting percentage and 36.9 rebounds per game. Earlier this season, the Wildcats defeated the Lakers in Marquette, Mich. by a final score of 78-50. Northern Michigan is led by junior guard Makaylee Kuhn, who averages 15.6 points per game to rank fourth in the GLIAC. Kuhn also leads the Wildcats in rebounds per game (5.8) and assists per game (2.9) this season. The Wildcats are led by head coach Troy Mattson, who is in his 17th season in the role.
The Michigan Tech Huskies
The Michigan Tech Huskies have combined for a 15-10 overall record and a 10-7 mark in GLIAC play this season. Through 25 games this season, Michigan Tech averages 72.0 points per game on a GLIAC-best 45.7 shooting percentage while adding 34.0 rebounds per game. The Huskies also lead the conference in three-point percentage (35.3%). Michigan Tech has four players who average 10 or more points per game this season, including the team's leading scorer, junior guard Ellie Mackay. Mackay ranks third in the conference with 16.6 points per game this season and she ranks 10th in the GLIAC in three point percentage. Sophomore guard Alex Rondorf follows with 12.5 points per game while sophomore forward Sara Dax (10.5 ppg) and Katelyn Meister (10.4 ppg) round out the team's top scorers. Dax's 5.6 rebounds per game leads Michigan Tech this season. The Huskies are led by Sam Clayton, who is in her fourth season as head coach at Michigan Tech.
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