#19 Grand Valley State 71, Parkside 57
Senior Alyssa Nelson poured in her third straight 20+ point game, but the Parkside women's basketball team couldn't get the late run they needed as No. 19 ranked Grand Valley State beat the Rangers 71-57 Saturday afternoon at De Simone Gymnasium. The Lakers improved to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the GLIAC while the Rangers move to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the GLIAC. 
 
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The game started in odd fashion, with Parkside being issued a technical foul before the ball was even tipped because of clock issues. The Rangers looked good early on, leading by as many as eight points in the first quarter, but GVSU closed the gap and the teams were tied 18-18 after one. The second quarter went back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than three points and the teams went to the locker room with a 36-34 GVSU lead.
 
The second half was a different story, as GVSU started to pound it down low and outscored Parkside 14-4 in the paint and took a 53-44 lead into the fourth quarter, where again they pounded it down in the post to keep Parkside away from a nice comeback. In the second half combined, GVSU won the battle in the paint 26-8. Back-to-back triples by senior Lamija Coric and Nelson brought the Rangers within eight points (63-55) with 3:44 to play, but that was as close as they would get.
 
STATWORTHY
Nelson finished with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting overall and 5-of-7 from downtown; she also added four assists and a block. Nelson has scored in double-figures in all but one game this season and is averaging 26.0 points per game in the last three games while shooting 12-of-20 from deep.
 
Senior Alexis Vaughn finished with eight points while senior Hannah Plockelman had eight points, five rebounds and four assists. The Rangers were held to 32.8% shooting while GVSU finished at 44.6% and won the rebounding battle 48-27.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Parkside will play its third game in four days with a nonconference battle against Lindenwood on Sunday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. at De Simone Gymnasium.