Lakers are in the midst of South Division stretch

SAULT STE. MARIE - The Lake Superior State men's and women's basketball teams are in the middle of their second regular-season stretch against Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division opponents. 

The Lakers play host to Northwood on Thursday and Wayne State on Saturday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium. The LSSU women (9-9 overall, 6-8 GLIAC) take on the Timberwolves at 5:30 p.m., and the LSSU men (11-8 overall, 9-5 GLIAC) follow at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Saturday's double-header against the Warriors begins with the women's game at 1 p.m., followed by the men's game at 3 p.m. All four games will be broadcast live on Talk Radio 1400 with a live audio feed on www.talkradio.net. A pay-per-view video feed is available on the B2 Network.

Both Laker teams were 0-2 during last weekend's road trips to Findlay and Hillsdale. They conclude the South Division portion of their regular-season schedule Feb. 11 and 13 at Tiffin and Ashland, respectively.

The LSSU men, who are 5-3 against South Division opponents in 2009-10, were ranked sixth in last week's NCAA Midwest Region Poll, while Saginaw Valley State was seventh and Findlay eighth. The 23^rd-ranked Oilers will likely jump ahead of the Lakers and Cardinals after last week's sweep, including a 31-point victory over SVSU. The top eight teams in each region advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Despite last week's losses, the Lakers are still in contention for a GLIAC North Division title. They trail first-place Grand Valley State by two games and Ferris State by one game. They are tied with the Cardinals for third in the North.

In mid-January, the LSSU men won 88-72 at Northwood and lost 73-61 at Wayne State. LSSU junior guard Micah Hudson scored a career-high 29 points in the shootout against the Timberwolves (8-10 overall, 5-9 GLIAC). Warriors Jerry Oden and Bryan Wright combined to score 45 points as WSU (10-8 overall, 8-6 GLIAC) as WSU held the Laker offense to 37.5 percent from the field.

The Laker women were 2-7 during the month of January with their two victories occurring at Northwood (10-8 overall, 6-8 GLIAC) and Wayne State (4-15 overall, 2-12 GLIAC). They hope to snap a four-game losing skid when they take on the injury-riddled Timberwolves, who have rallied to win three straight despite losing several players to season-ending injuries.

Junior guard Emily Joseph averaged 20.5 points per game to lead the Lakers during their mid-January road trip to Northwood and WSU, while junior guard Nicole Marshall contributed 13.5 ppg. The LSSU women are also 5-3 against South Division teams.

Upcoming events: LSSU plays its final regular-season home games against Grand Valley State on Feb. 18 and Ferris State on Feb. 20. The Laker women's basketball team, in conjunction with the Laker softball team, is holding the Cabin Fever-GLIAC Pink Wave raffle, and tickets to win more than 100 prizes are on sale now. Visit www.lssulakers.com to see the prize list and stop by the softball table during the basketball games to purchase $1 tickets and help wipe out breast cancer. The LSSU Basketball Alumni Weekend sponsored by the Hampton Inn is also on Feb. 20. For details, go to http://alumni.lssu.edu/events/laker_basketball_alumni_weekend.php.