There was a homecoming for Glen Lake graduates Maddie and Grace Bradford, Xander Okerlund, and Reece Hazelton as they all met on the basketball court earlier this month when Lake Superior State University traveled to Ferris State on Jan. 6 for a GLIAC showdown.
The Bradford sisters and Okerlund play for the Lakers mens and womens basketball teams, and Hazelton reps his Ferris State Bulldogs.
“It was really cool to see a bunch of my friends and family at the game because being in the Upper Peninsula, sometimes my extended family doesn’t really get to come much, but they watch online,” Grace said. “It was really special for me to see everyone coming out and supporting us.”
Even though the Laker women lost to the Bulldogs 10960, it was a learning experience for sophomore Grace and freshman Maddie Bradford.
“We haven’t seen a lot of them in a while and our school brought a bus down of all the girls. It’s super nice to see them,” Maddie said.
LSSU women’s basketball (1-13) have seen adversity against elite competition.
Nevertheless, Grace and Maddie are up for the challenge.
“It’s definitely different than high school, playing-wise, because in college everyone’s good who you play against, so we are just facing adversity in that sort of sense,” Grace said. “It’s definitely a learning point for myself trying to be a leader out on the court too, just encouraging everyone on my team to stick it through and having that mentality of even though we’re down, we can still come back and win. We are still playing our hearts out no matter what until the end and just always improving on your own game and pushing your teammates. It’s been a really good learning point for me personally.”
LSSU has six freshmen, three sophomores, and five seniors on the roster with plenty of youth to build in future years.
Grace has played a significant role for the Lakers and has quickly moved into a leadership position. She won GLIAC women’s basketball player of the week after leading the Lakers to its first win of the season over Illinois-Springfield 68-56. She had 15 points.
Grace has averaged 12.5 points per game along with 10.4 rebounds. Her biggest game so far this season happened against Northwood University when she dropped 28 points.
Maddie has been seeing the floor as a freshman gaining more and more of a role. She averages three points and three rebounds per game. The freshman found her rhythm against Hillsdale College and FSU when she scored 11 points in both games.
“I was a homebody so being away from home, it was kind of difficult at the beginning, but especially with Grace has made it a lot easier basketball wise,” Maddie said. “There is a lot more competition at the college level. I’m used to being the tallest one on the court, but now there’s people taller than me, so it’s an adjustment ... I plan on working harder and pushing myself to get more playing time.”
Maddie is focusing on rebounding and becoming more physical during her freshman season.
The Lakers are focused on improvement and making a run to make the GLIAC women’s basketball tournament.
“Our biggest goal is to clean up stuff offensively and defensively and pull out more wins. Then we can make it into the tournament because that would be really cool for us,” Grace said.
Maddie and Grace have both grown together as sisters and it seems they don’t fight as much like typical siblings do. They both recognize that they need each other.
“We used to fight a lot as all sisters do but as we grew up a little bit, she became my best friend, one of my closest friends. We’ve always hung out together and it’s kinda like a built in friend, and especially being at college together and experiencing this new transition in life,” Grace said.
Maddie is thankful to be playing with her sister once again.
“We’ve haven’t played with each other for a year, so it feels good to play with (Grace) again and be back to old times,” Grace said.
Glen Lake girls basketball had players 6-12 grade travel down to watch the Laker superstars.
Glen Lake junior varsity coach Katie Ottenbacher got to know Ferris State coaches after having players attend individual camps at FSU in the summer to gain interest.
Coincidentally, Christmas break as the best time to go and see a game as Ferris State played LSSU.
“Once I found that out, it was destiny ... The program has gained interest by showing girls former players who have been role models. Seeing them on the college court is a phenomenal opportunity for anybody who has interest in playing,” Ottenbacher said. “They see that and they want to be the next Maddie and Grace and build those dreams.”
