March 16, 2006

Allendale, Mich. - #10 Grand Valley State will open play in the 2006 NCAA DII Women's Basketball Elite Eight Wednesday, March 22 in Hot Springs, Arkansas versus the University of Charleston (WV). Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. (ET) at Summit Arena. The Lakers advanced to the Elite Eight a year ago, dropping a 67-55 decision to Seattle Pacific in a quarterfinal contest.

"We are excited to be heading back to the Elite Eight," said fourth-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. "This has been an incredible year for our team and we feel fortunate to be among the final eight teams still playing in Division II women's basketball," added Plitzuweit.

Grand Valley State enters the Elite Eight having won a single-season, school-record 30 games. In addition, GVSU has won a school-record 19 straight games heading into the matchup with Charleston. The Lakers won three Great Lakes Region tournament games by an average of 21.3 points per game. The Lakers opened with an 87-59 victory over Ashland, followed by a 91-70 win over Northern Kentucky. GVSU then claimed the Great Lakes Region Championship with a 91-76 win over #5 Drury. GVSU led by as many as 24 in the second half of the finale. Senior forward Niki Reams, an All-American candidate and the Most Outstanding Player of the Great Lakes Regional Tournament, averaged 22.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Reams shot 54.5 percent from the floor and 88.9 percent from the charity stripe (16-18). Sophomore guard Crystal Zick averaged 18.7 points, 8.6 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals en route to being named to the all-tournament team. Junior guard Erika Ryskamp averaged 18.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists, while shooting 50.0 percent from the three-point line (10-20). Ryskamp was the third member of the Laker squad named to the all-tournament team. Sophomore forward Erin Cyplik scored 13.3 points per game and pulled down a team-high 7.3 rebounds per contest.

The Lakers shot 56.1 percent from the floor, 79.2 percent from the charity stripe and 38.3 percent from the three-point line. The Lakers averaged 89.7 points and outrebounded its three opponents by a 36.0-27.3 margin and dished out 21 more assists (54-33) in three games.

"Charleston is an outstanding team and also has the experience of playing in the Elite Eight last year," said Plitzuweit. "They (Charleston) have an extremely talented team that is athletic and plays fundamentally sound basketball," added Plitzuweit.

Charleston is led by senior forward Lisa Lee. Lee is averaging 18.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Lee also leads the team in blocked shots (40) and steals (72), while shooting a team-best 56.6 percent from the floor. Junior guard Courtney Thomas is second on the squad in scoring (13.7 ppg) and three pointers made (38). Charleston averages 80.4 ppg, while yielding just 61.3.

Elite Eight Matchups

St. Cloud State (Minn.) (28-4) vs. Shaw (N.C.) (29-4) 1 p.m. (ET)

Emporia State (Kan.) (28-4) vs. American International (Mass.) (24-7) 3 p.m. (ET)

Cal. State-Chico (27-3) vs. Henderson State (Ark.) (29-4) 7 p.m. (ET)

Grand Valley State (30-3) vs. Charleston (W.Va.) (31-2) 9 p.m. (ET)

A reserved seat ticket for the entire tournament can be purchased for $25, while a general admission day pass is $8. For more information go to www.summitarena.org.