Jan. 17, 2003

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State will host arch rival Ferris State in men's and women's basketball on Saturday in the GVSU Fieldhouse. The women's game will begin at 6:00 pm with the men's game directly following. In addition, the 2002 NCAA DII National Championship Grand Valley State football team will be honored at the halftime of men's game. The women enter the matchup with a 15-1 overall record and 5-1 in conference action. The Lakers are ranked 9th in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Top 25 poll and third in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional poll. The men come into the game riding a season high five game win streak and have recorded an 8-7 overall mark.

Women's Game Notes:

The Game: Grand Valley hosts Ferris State in a North Division rivalry matchup...GVSU is a half game back of Lake Superior State in the GLIAC North division...FSU (9-5, 4-3) crushed Northwood, 66-46, on Thursday and have now won four of their last six.

Plitzuweit Leads The Way: Head Coach Dawn Plitzuweit (Michigan Tech, 1995) is in her first year at the helm of the Grand Valley State basketball program...Plitzuweit got the Lakers off to the best start ever under a first year GVSU head coach winning her first 14 games...Dawn gave birth to her second child, Alexis Marie, on Saturday, January 12.

Last Game: GVSU earned a 72-55 GLIAC road win at Ashland on January 9....Grand Valley led virtually the entire game and extended the lead to 21 in the second half before cruising to the win...Laurie Rehmann led GVSU with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Up Next: The Lakers travel to Saginaw Valley State on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14) at 5:30 pm...GVSU tripped up the Cardinals 80-67 in Allendale earlier in the year.

The Series: Grand Valley leads Ferris State in the all-time series 44-18, but Ferris State won both matchups a year ago...The Bulldogs earned an 80-74 win at Big Rapids and then stole a win in Allendale 70-64.

GVSU In the Polls: Grand Valley moved up to 9th in the latest USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Top 25 Poll, their highest position of the year...The Lakers are also ranked third in the first NCAA Great Lakes Regional ranking.

Laker Facts:

* The Laker defense leads the GLIAC and is ranked 8th in NCAA DII in scoring defense allowing only 53.5 points per game...GVSU also leads the conference in field goal percentage defense, and 19th nationally, as the Lakers are holding opponents to 35.1% shooting from the field.

* Junior center Julie Zeeff is leading the team in both scoring and rebounding averaging 16.1 points and 8.9 boards per game...Zeeff leads the GLIAC and is fourth in NCAA DII averaging 3.6 blocks per game...Julie scored a career high 36 points vs. Wayne State on Jan. 2...Zeeff has recorded eight double-doubles on the season and has hit double-digits in scoring in all but one game.

* Senior guard Laurie Rehmann is second on the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 11.7 ppg and 5.9 rpg...Rehmann also leads the Lakers and is sixth in the conference in assists averaging 4.88 per game...Laurie has recorded a career high nine assists in two different games this season...Rehmann led the Lakers with 17 points in their last victory at Ashland.

* Jen Nielsen is second on the team in assists averaging 4.1 per game, which ranks eighth in the conference...Nielsen is scoring 8.9 points per game and leads the Lakers with 35 steals.

* Cori Jewett is third on the team in scoring (9.6 ppg)...Jewett leads the team and ranks third in the GLIAC in three-point field goal percentage (.429)...Jewett is currently tied for fifth in career 3-pointers made with 93.

Men's Game Notes

The Game: GVSU enters tonight's matchup against arch rival Ferris State with a five-game winning streak, the longest for the Lakers this season...Ferris State lost to Northwood 79-73 on Thursday...The Bulldogs have lost their last three games by a total of 12 points.

Smith In Sixth Season: Terry Smith (Michigan State, 1984) is in his fifth year at the helm of the Grand Valley State basketball program...Smith has led the Lakers to a 90-63 mark since taking over the reins...Smith has led the Lakers to three GLIAC Tournaments, including a GLIAC Tournament Championship and the NCAA tournament in 2000-01.

Last Game: Grand Valley defeated UM-Dearborn 105-62...All 12 Lakers on the bench scored to extend the Laker winning streak to a season high five games...GVSU was led by freshman Nate Bassett who scored a career high 15.

Up Next: GVSU will hit the road for two GLIAC games next week starting at LSSU on Thursday (Jan. 23) at 7:30 pm and finishing at SVSU on Saturday (Jan. 25) at 3:00 pm.

The Series: Grand Valley trails FSU in the all-time series 41-34...The Lakers swept the series last season by a combined four points...GVSU defeated Ferris 86-85 in overtime in Big Rapids, before earning a 78-75 victory at home.

Laker Facts:

* Senior Jason Bauer earned GLIAC Player of the Week honors after recording his fifth double-double of the season against Ashland (Jan. 9) as he scored 17 with 12 rebounds, and five assists...Bauer is leading GVSU in points, rebounds, and assists...The last player to lead the team in the three categories was '92-'93 when Brent Wichlacz accomplished the feat...Bauer ranks fourth in the GLIAC with 9.1 rebounds per game and sixth in free throw percentage at 84.6%...Bauer moved into third on GVSU's career rebounding list with 904.

* Freshman Courtney James ranks second on the team in scoring with 11.7 ppg...James is fifth in the conference shooting 84.7% from the free throw line...James was 11 of 11 from the stripe in the victory over Ashland including three with one second left to send the game to OT..Courtney sat out GVSU's last game to rest a sore ankle.

* Melvin White has made 15 of 21 (71.4%) three-pointers in the five game winning streak...White's 50% (34 of 68) three point field goal percentage ranks third in the conference.

* Justen Naughton has scored in double figures in 8 of the Lakers last 9 games, and is GVSU's leading scorer averaging 11.4 points in those games...Naughton is 10th in the conference in field goal percentage as he is shooting 57.1% (44 of 77).

Did You Know: Grand Valley State has recorded at least one three-point field goal in every game since the three-point field goal shot came into effect in 1986-87. The streak is currently 460 games and 16-plus seasons.