The Bulldog women’s basketball team and the No. 8 ranked men’s basketball squad will head to the Upper Peninsula to play the Lake Superior State Lakers in their ninth straight GLIAC matchup.
The women (14-5, 8-2 in GLIAC) are looking for their seventh win in January, with their two losses in the month being against Northern Michigan and rival Grand Valley State. The men’s team (18-3, 8-2 in GLIAC) are looking to win their seventh in January, with their losses in the month being at Wisconsin-Parkside and home against Michigan Tech.
Women’s basketball
The women will play again without the GLIAC’s leading scorer, senior guard Kadyn Blanchard, who’s been out the past six games and will be out the rest of the season with an ACL tear. Blanchard averaged 17.5 points in 13 games before her injury.
However, with Blanchard out, junior guard Mia Riley has stepped up, averaging 16.2 points per game and 6.4 rebounds in the last six games.
The key to winning is for the Bulldogs to stifle the No. 9 Lakers’ (5-12, 2-7 in GLIAC) leading scorer, junior forward Grace Bradford. With 14.1 points per game, she sits sixth on the GLIAC leaderboard. However, she struggled in January, averaging 10.6 points per game, scoring less than ten points in two games.
Head coach Kurt Westendorp highlighted Bradford and Lake Superior State as a team.
“They’re always a very tough team to play at their home gym,” Westendorp said. “Lake State always plays very well at home. Grace Bradford is a very tough matchup for the entire conference, so we’re expecting her to be at her best, and we know that we have to be at our best.”
Men’s basketball
The men claimed a win over Northern Michigan last Thursday but will look to bounce back after a tough overtime loss to Michigan Tech on Saturday. Head coach Andy Bronkema talked about the keys to bouncing back after a loss like the one against the Huskies.
“The key is just to stay consistent with the things you believe in, whether you win or lose,” Bronkema said. “So that’s what we’ll do. Just try to stay consistent, find areas to get better and stay the course. It’s halfway through the conference season, and our record are records, so we’ll have to just keep going one game at a time.”
The No. 8 Bulldogs are led in scoring by senior guard Ethan Erickson, who’s third in scoring in the GLIAC with 17 points per game. However, Erickson has averaged just 14.7 in January.
Lake Superior State (16-3, 7-2 in GLIAC) is led by senior guard Tyson Edmondson, whose 16.2 points per game are fifth in the GLIAC. In January, Edmondson has been averaging 15.1 points per game and he’s coming off a 23-point performance against Northern Michigan.
Coach Bronkema talked about the keys heading into the Lake Superior State game.
“Unfortunately, the keys to that game aren’t complete yet,” Bronkema said. “So, I will say this about Lake Superior State. They’re a very well-coached team, and they got veteran stars, meaning there’s going to be several different keys. Tyson is a heck of a player, so we’re going to have to try slowing him down.”
Ferris State women will play at 5:30 p.m. and the men will play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30. Both games are up in Sault Ste. Marie at the Norris Events Center.