Lakers set winning tone early against Cardinals
SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State set the tone of Saturday's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball game during the opening minutes by storming to a 19-4 lead against Saginaw Valley State. The Lakers won 72-55 Saturday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium to remain undefeated in the GLIAC.
Senior guard Ronlea Peterson canned three three-pointers and converted a four-point play during the seven-minute run. She was 5-of-8 from behind the arc and scored 19 points as the Lakers dominated the first half, 42-17. She finished with a career-high 22 points.
Senior guard Emily Joseph scored 13 first-half points and finished with 21. Senior guard Nicole Marshall came through with nine second-half points and totaled 15, and sophomore forward Maria Blazejewski contributed nine points and 10 rebounds for the game.
LSSU (7-3 overall, 4-0 GLIAC) played without starting center Cassy Schemberger, who is injured.
Peterson also had seven rebounds and combined with Joseph to total 10 assists.
Lake Superior State shot 41.9 percent from the field during the first half and 36.7 percent for the game. The Lakers finished 7-of-21 from three-point range and made 21-of-25 free throws. Ten of their 12 turnovers occurred during the second half.
During their last three outings, the Lakers are 59-of-64 at the line for 92.2 percent. They went into the week ranked third nationally in free-throw percentage.
Kayla Womack scored 20 points to lead SVSU (3-6 overall, 1-3 GLIAC). The Cardinals shot 34.4 percent from the field, including 3-of-16 from behind the arc. They were 8-of-17 at the free-throw line and led in rebounding, 45-44.
LSSU is off until Jan. 6 (at Ferris State).
