Lakers 72, IUP 49. One loss all season, two straight championships, and a dynasty humming in Allendale.
Grand Valley State opened the national championship game on a 10-2 run and never let Indiana (Pa.) breathe, rolling 72-49 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on March 28. That makes back to back national titles for the Lakers and a third in program history, following 2006 and 2025, to cap a 36-1 season. For the second straight March, the nets came down in Pittsburgh and went home to Allendale.
Never in Doubt
The final was a clinic. GVSU led 41-24 at the half and shot a scorching 62.2 percent from the field while holding IUP to 31.1. The Crimson Hawks forced 19 turnovers but converted them into just 12 points, while the Lakers flipped 13 takeaways into 18.
Credit IUP for a historic run of its own. The Crimson Hawks reached the title game for the first time ever, finished 31-4, and brought more than 1,900 fans to Pittsburgh, with Teresa Maggio scoring 20 and joining Nyshae Weaver on the all tournament team. A national runner up finish is the best in school history, and between that and Gannon’s men winning it all a week later, the PSAC owned the spring.
The March Gauntlet
The Lakers won the GLIAC tournament, then hosted the Midwest Regional as the No. 1 seed. In the regional final, Paige VanStee poured in a career high 30 points on 11 of 15 shooting to beat Northwood 69-59, earning Most Outstanding Player honors while Nicole Kamin drilled four threes for 18.
Pittsburgh was a demolition. GVSU obliterated Carson Newman 96-48 in the quarterfinals, held UAH to 39 points in a 61-39 semifinal, and beat IUP by 23. Three elimination games, an average margin of 31.
The Machine Mike Williams Built
Mike Williams was named the 2026 WBCA Division II Coach of the Year, and it is easy to see why. VanStee, a WBCA All American, led the team at 15.0 points a game on a roster deep enough to bury anyone. The scariest number of all: across the last two seasons, the Lakers are a combined 74-3.
The Target Lives in Allendale
Three banners now hang in Allendale, and every program in Division II is chasing the same team. The three peat talk starts today.
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