Lakers begin GLIAC slate Thursday against Hillsdale

SAULT STE. MARIE - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team begins Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action against the team that ended its 2008-09 season, while the Laker men's team puts its North Division title on the line against last year's GLIAC South Division leaders.

LSSU plays its first GLIAC double-header Thursday against Hillsdale beginning with the women's game at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m. The Lakers also play host to Findlay at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium. All four games will be broadcast live on Talkradio 1400 with a live audio feed on www.talkradio1400.net. A pay-per-view video feed is available on the B2 Network.

Hillsdale (0-4) ended the previous season for the Laker women's team by winning a close GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal game, 62-60. The Chargers, led by Division II national player of the year Katie Cezat, were 3-0 against LSSU in 2008-09. This year, they are led by 5-9 senior guard Janay Miller, who is averaging 18.3 points and four rebounds per game, and 5-8 senior guard Brooke Knight at 11.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Guards also carry the load for LSSU (1-1), which split last weekend's season-opening games at the UIndy Holiday Classic. Junior guards Ronlea Peterson and Emily Joseph contributed 11.0 and 9.0 points per game, respectively, and junior forward Allison Jaynes added 11 ppg. The Lakers' young post trio of freshmen Maria Blazejewski and Ciara Zumer, and sophomore Cassy Schemberger combined to average 18 points and 12 rebounds in the two contests. Blazejewski scored a team-leading 13 points during a 15-point loss to eighth-ranked Indianapolis last Saturday.

Three different players have led the 4-0 Findlay women's team to victories over West Liberty, Wheeling Jesuit, Michigan-Dearborn and Rio Grande.

The LSSU men (1-3) have not played since their Nov. 21 loss to Aquinas. The Lakers were 1-1 last season against Hillsdale, which finished second in the South Division to eventual national champion Findlay. The Chargers, however, are 0-4 heading into Thursday's contest.

Senior guard Scott Perkins is averaging 17 points per game and shooting 44.9 percent from the field to lead LSSU. Fellow senior Garrett Konuszewski is scoring 12.5 ppg, followed by junior guard Micah Hudson and sophomore guard Kyle Hunt, who are both scoring 11.3 ppg.

LSSU and Hillsdale are ninth and 10th statistically in GLIAC scoring and defense. Findlay, meanwhile, is ranked fourth or fifth in most categories -- except steals, where they average a league-leading 12.0 per game. The ninth-ranked Oilers (3-1) ended their 38-game win streak with a 71-63 loss at Indianapolis on Nov. 21, but they remain the nation's winningest DII team of the new millennium and have an all-time record of 13-1 against the Lakers.