Holland Reporter

The GVSU women's basketball team, ranked second nationally, faced off against seventh-ranked Ashland in Allendale, Michigan. After a challenging first half, the Lakers pulled ahead in the second half to secure a 67-42 victory over the Eagles.

Both teams struggled offensively at the start. Rylie Bisballe scored the only points in the initial 5:17 of play. The first quarter concluded with both teams tied at 10.

Early in the second quarter, Ashland held a narrow lead of 13-12. However, Kathryn Schmidt responded for GVSU with a three-pointer and a layup, regaining a 17-13 advantage for her team. Ashland briefly took an 18-17 lead following a 5-0 run. Ellie Droste then hit consecutive three-pointers to ignite a 12-4 run that gave GVSU a halftime lead of 29-22.

GVSU maintained momentum into the third quarter, extending their lead beyond ten points after another layup from Bisballe. Their advantage grew to over 20 points by late in the period and ended with GVSU leading 48-29.

Ashland opened scoring in the fourth quarter but could not close the gap as GVSU went on a decisive 14-2 run to reach their largest lead of the night at 62-33. Despite Ashland's attempts to increase tempo, they were unable to challenge GVSU's control of the game.

Rylie Bisballe and Nicole Kamin each contributed significantly with 14 points; Bisballe also had five rebounds while Kamin added four rebounds and four steals. Ellie Droste added twelve points along with three assists and three steals. Kathryn Schmidt scored seven points and MacKenzie Bisballe provided six points and four rebounds.

The Lakers will resume action on December 5th when they begin GLIAC play on the road against SVSU.