Thursday, February 23 the Saginaw Valley State University women’s basketball team faced a home defeat against Northern Michigan Wildcats.
Victoria Stafford led the Cardinals with seventeen points in the game followed by Jessica Massey with twelve points.
Massey also added four rebounds and two steals. Saniaa Walker scored seven points and Lauren Sollom scored six. Lydia Meredith contributed six rebounds, half of which were on the offensive side.
In the first two quarters, the Cardinals were trailing by seven and then eleven points for a total of eighteen by the end of the second quarter.
Northern Michigan scored the first points of the game before Stafford hit a three. The Wildcats came back and scored a three followed by a layup by Stafford for a tied game.
These even exchanges ended, however, when the Wildcats had a 9-0 run taking the lead 14-5. Sollom scored her six points followed by two points from Northern and a jumper to end the first quarter 18-11.
The second quarter was even tougher for the Cardinals. They started the second quarter with a 3-2 run, but it was contracted by the Wildcats having a 12-2 run.
A free throw by Massey was countered by a three-pointer from Northern Michigan with under a minute left to go. The teams end the second quarter with a strong lead for the Wildcats up 35-17.
The Wildcats continued to show their ferocity in the second half with a 7-1 run taking their lead to 42-18. A layup from Walker and a jumper from Stafford countered and diminished their lead.
Then, Walker hit a jumper and converted on the and-one oppurity bringing the Cardinals to twenty-five points and Northern Michigan at forty-seven.
SVSU kept fighting back with a 6-2 run all points coming from Stafford.
The quarter ended 51-33 with a Wildcat layup and two points from Stafford from the charity stripe.
In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals won 17-12 but failed to catch up to the Wildcat’s lead. The quarter started with a 5-0 run from Massey and Aleshia Jones.
The Wildcats answered with a 9-0 run of their own and stretched their lead to twenty-two points.
Of the final fifteen points of the game, the Cardinals scored twelve of them. Massey was able to score eight of the twelve points with a pair of buckets, a three, and a free throw.
The final shot came from Walker and ended the game. The Wildcats however took home the win by thirteen points.
Be sure to watch the SVSU women’s basketball play again at their last home game at 1:00 p.m. on March 2 in the O’Neill Arena. More information on the game, and ticket information can be found at http://www.svsucardinals.com
