Mid Michigan Rolls Past Macomb Behind Second-Half Surge

Mt Pleasant, MI - The Mid Michigan Lakers used a dominant second half to pull away from the Macomb Monarchs on Saturday, earning a 76–53 victory and improving to 5–2 on the season.

The first half was a grind, defined by uncharacteristic turnovers from Mid and a tightly contested pace. Neither team led by more than six, and the Lakers held a narrow 31–29 advantage at the break.

Mid's breakthrough came early in the third quarter. Liliana Leppert drilled a deep three from the right wing to make it 38–36, igniting the home crowd and forcing a Macomb timeout at the 8-minute mark. Leppert finished the night 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and led the Lakers with 16 points.

Moments later, Grace Chinavare swung the momentum even further. She buried a three, then immediately jumped a passing lane for a steal and layup at the six-minute mark, pushing Mid's lead to seven. The margin hovered around six for most of the quarter until a late Macomb steal and score trimmed it to four. But with the clock winding down, Gracie Mellinger buried a 15-foot runner at the buzzer, giving the Lakers a 52–46 cushion heading into the fourth.

Mid Michigan seized complete control from there. Back-to-back steals and transition layups stretched the lead to 60–48 with six minutes to play. Any remaining hope for Macomb disappeared when Leppert splashed a 24-foot triple to extend the margin to 65–50.

Abby Lautzenheiser turned in a standout all-around performance, scoring 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting while pulling down 11 rebounds. Mellinger added 13 points and was perfect from the free-throw line, going 5-for-5.

A'Liyah Forris led Macomb with a game-high 18 points.

Mid Michigan returns to action Wednesday at home against St. Clair before traveling to upstate New York next weekend for the SUNY Niagara Tournament.