LSSU Starts Season 3-0 With Impressive Wins at Disney Tipoff Tournament

ORLANDO, Fla. - Lake Superior State senior center Alyssa VanderWal was named the tournament's most-valuable player and senior center Jackie Armstrong was named to the all-tournament team following Lakers' 70-65 overtime victory over Alaska-Anchorage on Sunday at the 12th annual Disney Tip-Off East Coast Classic held at the Wide World of Sports complex.

VanderWal averaged 10.7 points and 11.3 rebounds as LSSU defeated Bentley, 79-64, Columbus State, 69-67, and the fifth-ranked Seawolves. She was 14-of-15 at the free-throw line.

"Alyssa played the last eight minutes and overtime (against Alaska-Anchorage) with four fouls," noted LSSU coach Jamie Pewinski. "And she wasn't letting up. She still had a few blocked shots when she had four fouls."

Armstrong averaged 14.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, and was 12-of-18 at the free-throw line during the tournament.

LSSU came from behind to win all three games.

"We showed that we have a lot of pride," Pewinski said. "Coming back in all three of those games was really hard, especially to be down by six with 40 seconds to go. We played three different styles in three different games. We have some things to work on, but in every game we played hard."

Six Lakers scored in double figures against the highly-touted Seawolves (2-1), who finished 30-5 last season. The Lakers handed Alaska-Anchorage coach Tim Moser just his second regular-season non-conference loss in three years.

LSSU (3-0) trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, but rallied right back on back-to-back three-pointers by Jill Walton and a layup by VanderWal. Walton also scored at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 34-31 halftime lead.

Alaska-Anchorage built an 11-point lead, 49-38, with 12:54 remaining in the second half. LSSU answered with an eight-point run that included a three-pointer and field goal by Nicole Marshall, a layup by Shelle Rochon and a free throw by Armstrong.

Armstrong scored off her own rebound, and Ronlea Peterson converted a four-point play during the final 40 seconds, leaving the teams deadlocked at 62-62.

Armstrong made two free throws with 3:33 remaining in overtime to tie it, 64-64. Neither team scored again until Emily Joseph made a field goal with 36 seconds left. Peterson was 4-for-4 at the line as the Seawolves were forced to foul down the stretch.

Peterson totaled 14 points and eight rebounds and was 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. Armstrong added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Joseph had 11 points. VanderWal, Marshall and Walton scored 10 points each.

Peterson was 4-for-9 from three-point range and led the Lakers with 15 points against Columbus State, which held a 10-point lead with 18 minutes remaining in the second half. Armstrong and Marshall scored 14 points each, and Joseph finished with 11. The Lakers were a combined 11-for-25 from behind the arc.

VanderWal totaled 15 points and 11 rebounds in the Lakers' opener against Bentley, a team that has made a national-record 25 NCAA Tournament appearances. Armstrong led the Lakers in scoring with 17 points. VanderWal and Armstrong also had three blocked shots each. Allison Jaynes added 16 points. LSSU fought back from an early nine-point deficit during that contest.

LSSU plays its home opener at 1 p.m. on Nov. 15 against Lewis during the GLIAC v. GLVC Challenge.