Lakers come back with threes to beat Bentley
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team looked like a crew of underclassmen during the first few minutes of Friday's season-opener against highly-touted Bentley University. By the second half the Lakers looked like a team of veterans.
LSSU, whose lineup includes 10 freshmen and sophomores, defeated Bentley 79-64 during the first round of the 12th annual Disney Division II Tip-Off East Coast Classic played at the famous Disney Wide World of Sports Milk House.
Bentley, a storied DII program that has made a national-record 25 NCAA Tournament appearances, was missing three potential starters due to injury.
LSSU spent most of the first half battling back from an early nine-point deficit. The Lakers were stymied defensively during the game's opening six minutes and fell behind 19-10. The momentum changed when walk-on Alyssa Loney came off the bench and hit a three-pointer with 13:06 remaining in the first half, and center Jackie Armstrong scored after a deadball rebound, cutting the lead to 19-15. Loney added a jumper at 11:34 to polish off a seven-point run.
Lake Superior eventually tied it, 25-25, when Allison Jaynes canned a three-pointer at the 5:27 mark. Jaynes, Ronlea Peterson, Loney, Nicole Marshall and Jill Walton, who are all sophomores eligibility-wise, were a combined 5-for-10 from three-point range during the first half. They helped open the inside lane for senior centers Armstrong and Alyssa VanderWal, who combined to score 16 first-half points.
The teams were tied at halftime, 36-36.
LSSU claimed its first lead, 42-40, when Emily Joseph made two free throws with 17:13 remaining in the second half.
Jaynes broke a 51-51 tie with a three-pointer with 11:25 to go and ignited a 12-point scoring run. Armstrong and VanderWal made two free throws each at 10:17 and 9:15. Shelle Rochon hit a three-pointer at 8:28, and VanderWal finished it off with two more free throws with 8:06 remaining.
LSSU's biggest lead with 17 points, 73-56, with 4:08 remaining.
VanderWal turned in a double double, totaling 15 points and 11 rebounds. Armstrong led the Lakers in scoring with 17 points and had six rebounds. VanderWal and Armstrong also had three blocked shots each.
Jaynes added 16 points, and Marshall had seven.
LSSU, which is making its third Tip-Off Classic appearance, plays Columbus State at noon Saturday.
