PAINESVILLE, Ohio - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team (0-4) fell to the Lake Erie Storm (2-1) by a final score of 72-71 on Saturday.

The Lakers would get off to a fast start with a three from CeCe Hacker (Omaha, Neb.) and an and-one from freshman Grace Bradford (Glen Arbor, Mich.) after she stole the ball away from the Storm combined to give their team a 6-2 lead. However, the Storm responded with a 14-0 run, and they were able to take a 21-14 advantage into the second quarter.

The Lakers fought back early in the second quarter of action with five points from Margot Woughter (Traverse City, Mich.) cutting the deficit down to just two points, but a four-point play and a late 6-0 run by the Storm pushed their lead back out to 41-32 going into halftime.

Both teams would battle coming out of the break with threes from Hacker and Brittany Bowman (Kingsley, Mich.) answering Lake Erie's attack blow for blow, but late in the third quarter, the Lakers clawed their way back into the game with a 7-0 run that was capped off with a layup from Mattison Rayman (Otsego, Mich.) to get back to within two. Rayman would then extend that run to 11-0 early in the fourth quarter to give the Lakers their first lead since the score was 6-4 in the opening minutes. The Storm responded with a 5-0 run of their own, but Bowman was there to tie the game up at 61-61 with a three-point shot. Both teams went back and forth with Lake Erie hitting a pair of free throws and a three-pointer and Woughter tying the game on the other end of the floor on both occasions. Lake Erie was able to build a four point lead late in the game, but this time it was Rayman with the clutch effort, going on a 5-0 run by herself to put the Lakers up 71-70. However, the Storm would have the final say, going back up by one on their final possession, and they survived the Lakers' final attempt to hold on in the closing seconds of the contest.

Despite the loss, Rayman led the way offensively with 20 points while also leading all players in rebounding with 12 for the double-double. Woughter was not far behind with 19 points of her own, and Hacker joined her teammates in double-digit scoring with 13.

The Lakers return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 22 for their home-opener against Hillsdale in Bud Cooper Gymnasium with tipoff scheduled for 5 p.m.