No. 1 GVSU women's basketball off to fast start with two wins
ST. LOUIS – The Grand Valley women's basketball team completed the weekend sweep in Missouri as they followed up a 26-point victory over UMSL Friday with a 21-point win Saturday against Maryville. GVSU used a big fourth quarter to pull away from the Saints and come away with a 78-57 win. The Saints got the scoring started early, hitting a three on their first possession of the game, but consecutive jumpers from Courtney Sharland and Emily Spitzley gave the Lakers their first lead of the game. Coming off the bench midway through the period, Nicole Kamin hit two three-pointers to extend the Lakers lead to 12-7, and Ellie Droste hit a 3in the final minutes of the quarter as GV went into the second quarter with a 17-11 advantage. A 5-0 scoring run for the Lakers to open the second quarter gave them a double-digit lead at 22-11, a margin they would hold for most of the quarter, until the Saints used a 5-0 run of their own to end the quarter, and cut the GVSU lead down to 30-24 going into halftime. The Saints hit two three-pointers to begin the second half as they sandwiched them around a three from Hannah Kulas to cut their deficit to three. A layup from Maryville would bring it down to one, but the Lakers responded with a 10-0 run to get their lead back to double-digits at 43-32. The two teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter, and GV led 49-38 going into the fourth quarter.
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An Ellie Droste 3 pushed the lead to 14, and began an 11-2 run for the Lakers which extended the lead up to 20 points. Maryville tried to get back in the game, cutting the lead down to 14, but a three from Spitzley and two from Hannah Kulas put the game away for the Lakers, as they scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to ice the game. Emily Spitzley once again led the Lakers in scoring, as she poured in 16 points and added a team-high seven rebounds. Nicole Kamin scored a career-high 12 points, as she was 3-4 from long range and pulled down four boards. Ellie Droste had 13 points and four rebounds, while Hannah Kulas added 11 points. Courtney Sharland was big on the glass, tying Spitzley's team lead of seven rebounds. The Lakers shot over 43% from deep and outrebounded Maryville 47-35.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU women's basketball off to fast start with two wins
