Courtesy of Grand Valley State Athletic Communications

PITTSBURGH -- The GVSU women's basketball team was in the Elite Eight for the third time in the last 10 seasons, and for the third time they are advancing to the Final Four. The Lakers took down Gannon 60-32 to move on to Wednesday's Final Four. They will take on the fourth seeded Pittsburg State on Wednesday at 8:30.
 
Both teams took a few minutes to get adjusted, as it was almost two minutes in before anyone scored, that first basket belonging to Nicole Kamin. The game was tied at four with 4:37 to go, but five quick points from GVSU, courtesy of a Rylie Bisballe layup and Lexit Plitzuweit three made it 9-4. That was part of a 7-2 run to close the quarter, putting GVSU up 11-6.
 
Bisballe buried a three for the first points of the second quarter, increasing the Laker lead to eight. Gannon cut it to four points at 16-12 at the midway point of the period. GVSU would respond with a 6-0 run, capped off by an Abrie Cabana three to push their lead to 10. The Golden Knights would not go away, ending the half on a 6-0 run to only trail 22-18 at the break.
 
The Lakers came out in the third quarter and were dominant for the entire 10 minutes. They outscored Gannon 20-5 in the period, shooting 50% from the field. It started with four points from GVSU, but Gannon answered with a three to make it a five-point game. From there, it was a 16-2 run by GVSU to end the quarter, getting threes from Bisballe and Kathryn Schmidt to lead 42-23 after three quarters.
 
Gannon scored four of the first six points in the final period, but the Lakers rattled off a 12-0 run to put the game away, leading 56-27. GVSU ran out the clock from there, locking up their spot in Wednesday's Final Four.
 
Rylie Bisballe posted a monster 17-point, 14-rebound double-double, shooting 53.8% from the floor. MacKenzie Bisballe was the next highest scorer at nine points, with Ellie Droste and Abrie Cabana both scoring seven. Nicole Kamin contributed six points and eight rebounds and Lexi Plitzuweit had five boards.
 
The Laker defense held Gannon to 25.9% shooting from the floor and 10.5% from distance. The Golden Knights had 21 turnovers scored their fewest points in a game this season.
 
Up Next
GVSU will play Pittsburg State on Wednesday night at 8:30 in the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.