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Nov. 5, 2009
Bloomington, Ind. - Grand Valley State trailed by just five points midway through the second half of its exhibition game at Indiana on Thursday night (Nov. 5), but the Hoosiers eventually pulled away, defeating the Lakers, 80-70, in Bloomington, Ind. GVSU trailed at halftime by just a point and opened its 2009-10 season strong against the Big Ten program.
Although Indiana was the obvious favorite, both teams looked anxious at the start of the game. The Lakers' starting five included two juniors, a pair of sophomores, and a freshman and the Hoosiers started just one senior. Both team's first possessions ended in turnovers and neither team scored until IU's Jori Davis knocked down a three-pointer at the 18:16 mark.
Davis added another bucket in her five-point run to make the score, 5-0. GVSU then got on the board with a pair of free throws from freshman Alex Stelfox at the 17:28 mark and tied the score early at 5-5 off of a three-pointer from the corner off the hands of junior guard Elizabeth Van Tiflin.
Trailing 10-6, sophomore point guard Jasmine Padin hit a triple from the top of the key to cut the lead to 10-9 and junior Kara Crawford banked in a turnaround jumper to make the score, 11-10, giving GVSU its first lead of the contest at the 11:51 mark. At the second media timeout, Grand Valley State had already tallied more offensive rebounds (eight) than Indiana had total rebounds (seven).
The Hoosiers jumped back on top with a quick 6-0 run to make the score 16-11. Padin answered with her second three-pointer, as Indiana then put five quick points on the board to up the lead to 21-14. A triple from way downtown from sophomore guard Maddie Burnett cut the IU advantage to 21-17 with 7:53 remaining in the half.
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After Padin knocked down a pair of free throws and made the score 23-19, the Hoosiers went on another 6-0 run, which include four free throws, to up the advantage to 29-19. The IU lead was 31-22 when Stelfox tipped in a missed runner by freshman Brittany Taylor, scored the bucket, and was fouled. She made the free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play. Just 30 seconds later, Padin drained another three-pointer and GVSU's 6-0 run made the score, 31-28, in favor of the Hoosiers.
Three IU freebies put the Lakers behind, 34-28, before Padin hit her fourth long-distance shot of the first half. With 29 seconds left in the opening 20 minutes, sophomore guard Emma Veach drained a jumper with the shot clock expiring for the final points of the half. GVSU trailed by just a point, 34-33, at intermission.
In the first half, Grand Valley State completely dominated the glass, owning a 27-13 edge in the rebounding department and pulling down 16 offensive boards, which led to a 12-2 advantage in second-chance points. Padin led all scorers at halftime, as she totaled 14 first-half points and made 4-of-6 three-point attempts. Veach recorded seven rebounds for the Lakers, while Van Tiflin and Stelfox each scored five points apiece.
The Lakers found themselves down by a point, even though they shot just 28.6 percent (10-of-35) from the floor, but GVSU knocked down 40.0 percent (6-of-15) three-point attempts. Indiana shot 40.9 percent from the field (9-of-22) and made 85.7 percent (12-of-14) of its attempts at the charity stripe.
Grand Valley State came out and quickly took the lead at the beginning of the second half. Stelfox scored on a layup and a jumper, which Veach followed with a runner off the glass and a pair of free throws. The Lakers led 41-40 before Indiana put together an 8-0 run and pushed out to a 48-41 advantage.
Sophomore Jessica Trambley put in a layup, followed by a jumper in the paint from Veach. GVSU closed its 5-0 run with a Burnett free throw and cut the Hoosier lead to 48-46 at the 12:44 mark. IU extended the advantage to 56-48 before freshman forward Paige Smith got a three-pointer from the top of the key to bounce in, making the score 56-51.
Indiana started to slowly pull away with a 7-2 run, upping the lead to 63-53 before Padin drained her fifth triple near the 5:30 mark, cutting the Hoosier advantage to 63-56. GVSU made it a six-point game to make the score 64-58, as Stelfox sank a pair of free throws with 4:51 remaining in the second half. The Lakers used a triple from Veach to make the score 68-61 with just under four minutes left, but IU closed out the game from that point with a 12-9 run that made the final tally, 80-70.
Veach finished the contest with a double-double, including a team-high 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting. She added a game-high 11 rebounds and dished out five assists. Padin knocked down 5-of-11 three-point attempts and notched 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Stelfox provided quite a post presence with 11 points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots. Nine Lakers scored in the game, while 13 different players saw action on the floor.
GVSU won the rebounding battle, 45-34, and forced 15 Hoosier turnovers. The Lakers made 10-of-29 three-pointers (34.5 percent) and drained 18-of-22 free throw attempts (81.8 percent). Indiana connected on 47.5 percent of its shots from the field and shot 18-of-23 at the free throw line.
The only other time the two schools met on the hardwood was March 10, 1977 in the MAIAW Midwest Regional Tournament. GVSU topped the Hoosiers, 62-61, in a game that was held at Purdue University. Kim Hansen, the Lakers' second-leading scorer in program history, notched 26 points in the win, ending Indiana's season.
Grand Valley State returns to action on Sunday (Nov. 8) at 2:00 p.m., as the Lakers travel to East Lansing and take on Michigan State.
