Lakers to play GLVC opponents Bellarmine and St. Joseph's

SAULT STE. MARIE - This week's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference vs. Great Lakes Valley Conference women's basketball crossover games will rekindle a familiar rivalry and influence the all-important regional rankings that eventually determine NCAA Tournament qualifiers. 

LSSU (5-2) will play GLVC opponents Bellarmine (8-1) at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and St. Joseph's (3-6) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium. GLIAC foe Northwood (3-4) will also play both teams at 3 p.m. both days.

The LSSU men's basketball team, which is 5-4, will play a non-conference game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against Albion (5-4).

The three LSSU games will be broadcast live on Talkradio 1400 with a live audio feed on www.talkradio1400.com. Pay-pew-view video feeds of all five games will be available on http://www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=23. For live stats of all five games, go to http://livestats.prestosports.com/lssu/.

So far this season, the LSSU women's team is 1-1 against GLVC opponents, including a 68-55 loss to fourth-ranked Indianapolis (9-0) and an 87-62 victory over Illinois-Springfield (2-7).

Bellarmine is 1-0 against the GLIAC with a 79-77 victory over Hillsdale (4-5), while St. Joseph's is 0-1 with an 81-72 loss to Grand Valley State (7-2). Northwood has not played a GLVC opponent yet this season.

Bellarmine is third in the GLVC East Division behind Southern Indiana and Indianapolis. The Lady Knights are led in scoring by senior Brittany Edelen (16.2 points per game) and sophomore Kylie Brady (15.8 ppg), who are both ranked among the GLVC's top-10 scorers. BU freshman Jalissa Chatlos is the league's No. 2 rebounder at 9.9 rebounds per game. Edelen leads the GLVC in average blocked shots per game at 2.33.

St. Joseph's sophomore Tatiana Ortiz is tied for second in the league in scoring at 17.7 ppg and is fifth average three-point field goals per game (2.56). Junior Montrell Mills averages 3.22 steals per game to lead the GLVC, while Ortiz is tied for third at 2.56.

Northwood, which is 1-4 in its last five games, is coming off back-to-back GLIAC losses to Northern Michigan (68-57) and No. 1-ranked Michigan Tech (72-64). Junior Pam Wilson is averaging 17.0 ppg to rank third in the GLIAC in scoring. She is second in rebounding at 9.1 rpg and third in free-throw percentage at .860.

Lake Superior State, which has won four straight, is led in scoring by freshman forward Maria Blazejewski, who is averaging 15.4 ppg to rank sixth in the GLIAC. Sophomore Cassy Schemberger is seventh in rebounding at 6.9 rpg. Junior guard Emily Joseph is second in average assists per game (5.6) and assist/turnover ratio (2.1). Junior guard Ronlea Peterson is fourth in average steals per game (2.3) and three-point field-goal percentage (.464).

The Lakers lead the GLIAC in team three-point field-goal percentage (.387), and are second in average rebounds allowed (32.9), average blocked shots per game (3.9) and team free-throw percentage (.800).

Bellarmine leads the GLVC in team free-throw percentage (.773) and rebound margin (+10.6), while averaging 46.1 rebounds per game. The Lady Knights are second in average blocked shots per game (4.56). St. Joseph's leads the league in turnover margin (+5.67).