Purdue Northwest Women Drop Home Game to Grand Valley State, 73-53

Purdue Northwest Women Drop Home Game to Grand Valley State, 73-53

Hammond, Ind. – Despite 12 points apiece from sophomore Bayley Goodman (Fowler, Ind./Benton Central) and freshman Lanie Allen (East Noble, Ind./East Noble), the Purdue Northwest women’s basketball team suffered a 73-53 home loss to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) foe Grand Valley State University (Mich.) Saturday afternoon on John Friend Court at the Fitness & Recreation Center in Hammond, Ind.  The Pride could not get shots to drop over the final four minutes of the first quarter and start of the second quarter and the Lakers capitalized using a 17-0 run to build a 28-10 lead with 8:44 left to play in the first half.

Senior Ellie Michalski (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) just missed a double-double for PNW finishing with eight points and team-leading 11 rebounds, while senior Jessica Kiser (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and junior Michaela Kikendall (Morristown, Ind./Morristown) each chipped in seven points.  Purdue Northwest shot well from beyond the arc connecting on 39 percent (7-for-18) of its three-point tries, but struggled to take care of the basketball committing 21 turnovers in the ballgame.

Lay-ups early in the game by Kiser and Michalski had the Pride tied 6-6 with the Lakers at the midpoint of the opening quarter.  Kikendall hit a pair of jumpers to push PNW up to 10 points over the next couple minutes of action, but then the offense went cold failing to score again until the 8:27 mark of the second quarter.  The surge helped GVSU take a 45-25 lead into halftime.   

PNW came out strong in the second half and early three-pointers by Kiser and Goodman helped the Pride close the gap to within eight, 52-44, with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.  Trailing 56-44 heading into the final quarter, PNW could not keep the momentum going and the Lakers outscored the hosts, 17-9, in the fourth to secure the road win.

Purdue Northwest (1-8 overall/1-4 GLIAC) takes some time off for the holiday season and returns to action on Saturday, December 30, with a non-conference road game against University of Indianapolis.  The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT start at Nicoson Hall in Indianapolis.