In an exciting culmination of the Division II basketball season, Grand Valley State University clinched its second championship with a solid 70-58 victory over California State-Dominguez Hills on Friday night. The Lakers’ triumphant journey saw them end their season with an impressive 38-2 record.
Freshman standout MacKenzie Bisballe played a pivotal role by scoring 14 points, while her sister, Rylie Bisballe, contributed 13 to deliver the victory. This marked only the second time in the program’s history that Grand Valley State has appeared in the championship game, the first being in 2005-06 when they defeated American International 58-52, setting a record with 33-3 for that season.
California State-Dominguez Hills, boasting an outstanding 36-2 record and having commenced their season with 29 consecutive victories, reached the championship match for the first time in their history. Despite their efforts, the Toros faced challenges from the onset, as Grand Valley State expanded their narrow 15-12 lead by executing an 11-point run, taking a commanding 26-13 advantage by the middle of the second quarter. Meanwhile, CSUDH struggled offensively, managing just five of 18 shots, yielding a 28% shooting rate in the game’s opening half.
Grand Valley State entered halftime ahead at 38-21 and further asserted their dominance by scoring the first nine points of the third quarter, including a decisive three-pointer from MacKenzie Bisballe, widening the gap to 47-21. Among the Lakers, Ellie Droste also stood out with 11 points, while Lexi Plitzuweit added four points in 18 minutes. Lexi is the daughter of Dawn Plitzuweit, who was the head coach of Grand Valley State’s previous championship team and now coaches at Minnesota.
On the opposition, Asia Jordan led CSUDH with 17 points and ten rebounds, and Kya Pearson contributed 11 points. Nala Williams, the WBCA player of the year, was limited to just seven points on 3-of-14 shooting. Remarkably, Grand Valley State turned the ball over 26 times, aligning with CSUDH’s seasonal average of forcing turnovers, ranking them fifth nationally.
Notably, the men’s basketball team from California State-Dominguez Hills is also poised to compete for its inaugural title, squaring off against Nova Southeastern on Saturday.