Laker women win first leg of U.P. journey

MARQUETTE - Lake Superior State once again found its shooting touch and dominated the boards to beat Northern Michigan 71-58 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball contest Thursday at the Berry Events Center.

LSSU (12-7 overall, 5-6 GLIAC) shot over 50 percent from the field for the sixth time this season, made 18-of-21 free throws and out-rebounded the Wildcats, 39-27, while leading the game from start to finish.

Although senior Jaclyn Armstrong led all scorers with 21 points, the Lakers put forth one of their most-balanced offensive outings of the season.  Alyssa VanderWal finished with 11 points and six rebounds, and Shelle Rochon came off the bench to total 10 points, five rebounds and four steals. Nicole Marshall had nine points and six rebounds, followed by Ronlea Peterson with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists. Annie Dykhouse filled in for VanderWal when she was in foul trouble and scored eight points.

Lake Superior State led 34-23 at halftime, but Northern Michigan (9-7 overall, 4-7 GLIAC) got back-to-back three-pointers from Kellie Rietveld and Cassie Hegbloom, cutting the lead to five points. The teams traded baskets for two minutes until NMU's Steffani Stoeger hit another three-pointer, closing the gap to three points, 40-37.

LSSU responded with a 12-2 run that included two field goals and two free throws by Dykhouse. Her basket with 11:19 remaining gave the Lakers a 52-39 advantage.

NMU closed within eight points three times during the final eight minutes. Marshall put the game out of reach, 69-58, with a three-pointer with 1:32 to go.

Armstrong was 7-for-10 from the field and 7-of-8 at the free-throw line. VanderWall made all five field-goal attempts, and Marshall was 4-for-6. LSSU was 26-of-51 from the field as a team, including 1-for-7 from behind the arc.

Stoeger scored 13 points, and Rietveld had nine points and seven rebounds to lead NMU. The Wildcats shot 33.9 percent from the field, including 10-of-25 from three-point range, and made 10-of-13 free throws.

LSSU, which moved into sole possession of third place in the GLIAC North Division, plays at 1 p.m. Saturday at Michigan Tech.

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