Lakers vs. WMU
GLIAC Tournament preview
Men's Basketball Preview
The Lake Superior State men's basketball team plays at Hillsdale at 7:30 p.m. today in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
The sixth-seeded Lakers (14-13) and third-seeded Chargers (14-12) were 1-1 against each other during the regular season. LSSU senior Scott Perkins scored a career-high 38 points, and sophomore guard Kyle Hunt had seven points and a season-high 14 rebounds to lead the Lakers to a 65-60 win in Sault Ste. Marie on Dec. 3. Hunt totaled 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead three double-figure scorers in a 77-74 overtime loss at Hillsdale on Jan. 30. Perkins scored six points and suffered an injury in that contest.
Perkins was held to single-digit scoring for three straight games while he was injured, but has averaged 20.5 ppg in his last six outings. He is ranked sixth in GLIAC scoring at 17.6 points per game and heads into his final post season run with 1,236 career points.
Hillsdale and Lake Superior State are two of the GLIAC's top three teams in three-point field-goal percentage defense. The Chargers are first at .316, while the Lakers are third at .324. LSSU shot 33.3 percent (14-42) from behind the arc in two regular-season games against HC, while Hillsdale shot 32.1 percent (18-of-56).
Three players average in double figures for Hillsdale. Sophomore guard Brent Eaton, who has 73 three-pointers this season, leads the Chargers at 14.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He is ranked second in the league in three-point field-goal percentage in league play at .462.
LSSU is making its sixth GLIAC Tournament appearance and have an all-time tournament record of 5-4. In 2008-09, the Lakers lost in the semifinals to Grand Valley State, 81-69. LSSU and Hillsdale have never met in the tournament.
Women's Basketball Preview
The Lake Superior State women's basketball team will be making its 13th appearance in the GLIAC Tournament when it takes on Grand Valley State at 6 p.m. today in Allendale.
Sixth-seeded LSSU (14-12), which has an all-time tournament record of 11-11, was 1-1 during the regular season against third-seeded Grand Valley State (18-9). GVSU handed LSSU one if its worst losses of the season, 73-49, on Jan. 9 in Allendale. Junior guard Emily Joseph scored a team-high 14 points for LSSU, which shot 33.3 percent from the field.
Junior guard Ronlea Peterson scored a career-high 21 points in a 69-62 victory over GVSU on Feb. 18 in Sault Ste. Marie. Freshman forward Maria Blazejewski added 18 points.
Lake Superior State and GVSU last met in the GLIAC Tournament in 2002-03, when LSSU defeated the Lakers 67-60 in the championship game played in Bud Cooper Gymnasium.
Eventual champion Hillsdale bounced LSSU in the first round last season, 62-60.
Three-point and free-throw shooting success could be factors in the women's quarterfinal game. GVSU leads the GLIAC in three-point field-goal percentage defense at .307 and held LSSU to 10-of-37 (.270) during the regular season. LSSU, which is ranked second in the league in free-throw percentage (.778), made 28-of-35 (.800) free throws in earlier games against GVSU. Grand Valley State, which is ranked 10th in foul shooting at .703, was 20-of-31 (.645).
Blazejewski, Joseph and junior guard Nicole Marshall are all averaging more that 12 points per game to lead LSSU in scoring. Much-improved sophomore center Cassy Schemberger (8.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) has averaged 11.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game during her last five outings.
Freshman center Alex Stelfox averages 12.3 ppg and sophomore guard Emma Veach contributes 11.3 ppg to lead GVSU.
