March 23, 2005

Box Score

Grand Valley State dropped a 67-55 decision to Seattle Pacific on Wednesday at the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Hot Springs, Ark. The Lakers end their season with a 28-6 overall record, while Seattle Pacific (29-2) advances to the Final Four against Merrimack College on Thursday, March 24.

The two teams battled back and forth in the opening minutes of play, but Grand Valley took a one point lead (10-9) on a three-pointer by junior forward All-American Niki Reams with 13:22 left in the first half. However, Seattle Pacific scored eight straight points to take an 18-10 lead at the 10:27 mark. The Lakers cut the lead to five points on a Reams free throw with 4:50 remaining in the half, but Seattle Pacific went on a 6-0 run to take a 28-17 lead with 2:44 left. Senior guard Janine Guastella hit a jumper with 21 second left to cut the lead to 31-24 at the half.

Sophomore forward Julia Braseth made a lay-up in the Lakers first posession of the second half to knock the Falcon lead to five. Seattle Pacific went on a run, increasing the lead to 13 with 12:37 remaining. Guastella cut the lead to six with 9:56 left, sinking a free throw, but the Falcons came back and hit a three-pointer to increase the lead to nine. GVSU got within seven on two Reams free throws (57-50), but Seattle Pacific scored six straight to take a 63-50 lead with 3:29 left in the game. Guastella hit a three-pointer with 2:01 on the clock, but the Falcons knocked down four free throws in the final 1:21 to seal the 67-55 win.

Niki Reams led all scorers with 25 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while freshman center Rachael Willett finished the game with 11 points and four rebounds. Janine Guastella played in her final game for the Lakers, tallying eight points, five rebounds, and two assists. Sophomore guard Erika Ryskamp added five points and four rebounds for the Lakers.

This was the first time in school history the Lakers won the Great Lakes Regional Championship and made it to the Elite Eight. Grand Valley's 28 wins was also a single-season record.