Alia Burgess Student Assistant | Grand Valley State University Athletics Website
Alia Burgess Student Assistant | Grand Valley State University Athletics Website
The GVSU women's basketball team triumphed over Wayne State with a decisive 87-54 victory in the semifinals on Saturday night, securing their place in the Midwest Regional Championship game. The top-seeded Lakers will face second-seeded Ashland on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Fieldhouse.
The Lakers began strong, leading 11-4 after Rylie Bisballe's three-pointer. Although Wayne State narrowed the gap to 11-7, GVSU responded with six consecutive points, extending their lead to 17-7. The Warriors managed to reduce the deficit again to 21-15, but MacKenzie Bisballe's free throw and jumper concluded the first quarter at 24-15.
In the second quarter, Ellie Droste hit two three-pointers and Nicole Kamin added a jump shot, increasing GVSU's lead to 32-15. Paige Vanstee's layup pushed it further to 38-18. By halftime, following a 16-3 run by the Lakers, they led comfortably at 46-21.
Molly Anderson's early three-pointer in the second half expanded GVSU's advantage to 53-23. Later in that period, Avery Zeinstra also scored from beyond the arc as GVSU doubled Wayne State’s score at 62-31. MacKenzie Bisballe’s late tip-in brought them into the fourth quarter leading by a substantial margin of 66-33.
Throughout the fourth quarter, GVSU maintained a lead of over 30 points, reaching a peak of 39 points after Sydney Cherney scored another three-pointer. This win marks GVSU’s fourth consecutive appearance in the Midwest Region Championship game.
Rylie Bisballe finished with an impressive performance scoring 19 points while shooting nine out of thirteen from the floor; she also contributed four rebounds and three assists. Paige Vanstee added fifteen points and four rebounds while MacKenzie Bisballe recorded eleven points along with five rebounds and two blocks. Nicole Kamin provided six points and five assists while Kathryn Schmidt secured seven rebounds contributing significantly to their dominant board control at 45-23.
Next up for GVSU is their match against Ashland scheduled for Monday night starting at seven o'clock.
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