GVSU women's basketball claims GLIAC title; poised for another Final Four run

ALLENDALE - The Grand Valley State women's basketball team is once again playing like a Final Four team.

The Lakers made the Final Four two years ago and have been one of the nation's elite programs every year since.

After going 31-3 the past two seasons, the Lakers finished the regular season 29-2 after clinching the GLIAC Championships on Sunday with a 67-48 win over Northern Michigan at home.

GVSU earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament and will host the Midwest Regional this weekend. The Lakers will face Trevecca Nazarene in the first round on Friday.

"This is huge. We had a couple setbacks this year and the kids hung in and stepped up," GVSU coach Mike Williams said. "We had kids step up as leaders and that is big moving forward."

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Two years removed from the Final Four, the Lakers are aiming for another big run after falling in the NCAA regional final last year.

"This is a great feeling. We showed toughness the whole game. It is great to see all the work yiou have put in pay off in the long run," Rylie Bisballe said. "Our experience will be helpful. We have five starters, but a whole bench of players who can step up. Everyone helps our team."

The Lakers made seven 3-pointers in the first half (4-of-5 in the first quarter) against Northern Michigan and were in control the entire game.

"This game was always a big deal," GVSU guard Hadley Miller said. "It is just about sticking together through everything. That is the biggest thing. It is about building on experience game after game. That is what we are trying to do."

Emergence of Rylie Bisballe

GVSU center Rylie Bisballe ias been one of the top post players in Division II the past few seasons, but has been overshadowed by teammates as far as accolades and recognition.

But not this year. Bisballe was the GLIAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. after leading the Lakers to the conference championship.

She had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Lakers on Sunday.

"Her role changed a little bit. We lost five really good players last year to graduation and to see her change, then when Ellie (Droste) went on, it really changed. She knew she had to score more. She has been capable, we just had a lot of pieces that could score the past couple of years," Williams said.

Bisballe led the Lakers with 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds, which both ranked in the top 10 in the league. Once GLIAC play began, she dominated, averaging over 16 points and seven boards against the conference. The Lake City native added 35 steals and 27 blocks while shooting 52.4% from the floor. She becomes the first Laker to be named Player of the Year since Cassidy Boensch in 2019-20 and becomes the inaugural winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award.

"This year I definitely had to step up as a leader a little bit more. That is something I have prided myself on. I have gained more confidence, too, which is helpful," Bisballe said.

Injury update

GVSU starting point guard Ellie Droste sustained a season-ending knee injury a couple of weeks ago and will miss the tournament.

But the Lakers have found a way to keep the momentum going without the former all-state player from Pewamo-Westphalia.

The guard play was stellar in the GLIAC final with Abrie Cababa scoring 14 points and dishing out two assists. Miller had 11 points, Lexi Pitzuweit had six rebounds and three steals. and small forward Nicole Kamin scored 10 with three assists. Molly Anderson had five points and six rebounds off the bench.

"We have good players and when they are called, they have stepped up this year," Williams said.

GVSU falls in men's final

The GVSU men's basketball team saw its season come to an end in the GLIAC finals with an 87-76 loss to Ferris State.

The Lakers were playing their best baketball and reached the finals with a couple of upset wins, but end the season 16-15.

Ferris State earned the GLIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and improved to 25-7.

Britain Harris led the Lakers with 25 points.

Ethan Erickson led the Bulldogs with 20 points.

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU women claim GLIAC title; poised for another Final Four run