If you are looking for some fun basketball to watch, Laker Fieldhouse will house all of the action on Friday and Saturday nights. The Laker Classic will be headlined by the No. 6 ranked team in the NJCAA in Lake Land’s women with two teams from Michigan and Spoon River rounding out the field.
Here’s a preview of the showcase.
Team Records:
Grand Rapids Community College (4-2)
Muskegon Community College (4-3)
Where: Laker Fieldhouse
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased at Laker Fieldhouse.
Full Schedule
Friday, December 16
Spoon River vs. Muskegon – 4:00 p.m.
Lake Land vs. Grand Rapids – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 17
Spoon River vs. Grand Rapids – 12:00 p.m.
Lake Land vs. Muskegon – 2:00 p.m.
Grand Rapids’ Past Results: The Lakers do not have any familiar opponents with Grand Rapids. The team owns wins over Lansing Community College (53-43), Harper College (64-17), Detroit Community Christian College (78-31), and a double-overtime 71-69 win over Hope College JV. The team’s losses are to the same team, Aquinas JV. The first loss was 57-45 and then the team lost 70-59 the first week of December. The team competes in Region 12 of the NJCAA.
Grand Rapids; Top Players: The team features four players scoring in double figures in a very balanced scoring attack. Leading the way is Marlene Bussler, a 5-foot-6 sophomore guard, with 14.6 points. The rebounding game appears to be strong with two players averaging double-digit rebounds. Grace Lodes, a 6-foot-2 sophomore forward, is averaging 12.8 points, while Sally Merrill, a 5-foot-10 sophomore forward, is averaging 11.6 rebounds. Allison Kellogg, a 6-foot-0 sophomore, is averaging 8.3 rebounds per game.
Grand Rapids’ Potential Starting Lineup
Guard: Marlene Bussler, 5-foot-6 sophomore: 14.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.6 APPG, 2.4 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Guard: Sally Merrill, 5-foot-10 sophomore: 13.6 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Guard: Emersyn Koepke, 5-foot-7 sophomore: 3.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Forward: Grace Lodes, 6-foot-2 sophomore: 11.8 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.8 BPG
Forward: Allison Kellogg, 6-foot-0 sophomore: 11.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Muskegon’s Past Results: Lake Land does not have any familiar opponents with this team. Muskegon was supposed to play Morton in November but the game was cancelled. The team owns wins over Aquinas College JV (62-59 OT), Mott (58-44), Hope College JV (73-56), and Kalamazoo Valley (61-52). The team owns losses to Owens (67-58), Calvin University JV (59-57), and Southwestern Michigan (67-59). Muskegon also competes in Region 12.
Muskegon’s Top Players: The team relies on two players in scoring. That starts with Emmerson Goodin, a 5-foot-11 freshman, that averages 13.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.1 steals per game. Calla Miller, a 4-foot-4 sophomore, averages 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds. Karleigh Jeffries, a 5-foot-7 sophomore, is averaging a near-double-double of 9.9 points and 10.0 rebounds. The team averages 61.1 points per game. That includes a team average of 30.8% from the field, 21.2% from three-point range, and 61.5% from the free-throw line.
Muskegon’s Potential Starting Lineup
Guard: Calla Miller, 5-foot-4 sophomore: 13.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 2.1 SPG, 0.7 BPG
Guard: Yuna Soma, 5-foot-6 freshman: 7.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Forward: Emmerson Goodin, 5-foot-11 freshman: 13.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 3.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Forward: Karleigh Jeffries, 5-foot-7 sophomore: 9.9 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Center: Ally Seiber, 6-foot-0 sophomore: 4.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Lake Land’s Past Results: Lake Land has played one game since December 3. That was a 68-61 win over Olney Central College last Saturday.
Lake Land’s Potential Starting Lineup
G: Olivia Niemerg, 5-foot-7 sophomore: 8.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 6.4 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG
G: Chloe Custis, 5-foot-7 sophomore: 6.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.0 BPG
G: Lexie Niebrugge, 5-foot-8 sophomore: 12.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.0 BPG
F: Ali Watson, 6-foot-0 sophomore: 10.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.0 BPG
F: Marissa Russo, 5-foot-8 sophomore: 3.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG< 1.1 APG, 0.1 SPG, 0.0 BPG
What Lake Land Said: “Grand Rapids is a good team with a ton of height,” said coach Dave Johnson. “Muskegon is an attacking team that plays a little bit of man and a 1-3-1 zone. We are going to just look to continue to improve and play better on the offensive side of the court.”