MIDLAND, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team fell in a road contest to Northwood University on Wednesday (2/16) by a score of 78-69.  The loss drops the Cardinals to 7-16 overall on the season and 4-12 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play while the Timberwolves improve to 13-9 overall and 9-7 in league play.

Senior forward Brittany Burkhardt (West Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) reached the 1,000-point plateau for her career within the first two minutes of the game.  Needing three points to reach the milestone, Burkhardt made good on a layup and free throw to complete a three-point play at the 18:58 mark in the first half to give her an even 1,000 for her career, also giving SVSU a 5-2 lead.

The Cardinals would lead by a score of 18-14 with 10:40 remaining in the first half after a layup by freshman Kayla Womack (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./G.P. North HS).  Northwood would use a Pam Wilson three-pointer at the 2:02 mark to grab the lead back at 30-29 and score the next four points to head into halftime with a 34-29 advantage.

The Cardinals opened the second frame by scoring the first six points, using a free throw by junior Marah Kyle (Bluffton, Ind.) and a triple and jumper from freshman Kristen Greene (Brown City, Mich.) to grab a 35-34 lead at the 18:49 mark.  The Timberwolves would re-gain the lead, but SVSU came back to take a 47-44 advantage with 13:54 remaining in the contest after a jumper by Womack and a triple from senior Kelley Wesp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Glen Este HS). 

The last lead SVSU would hold was at the 9:11 mark with the score 52-51.  From there, Northwood took advantage and closed-out the contest with a nine-point victory, 78-69.

Meijer "Player of the Game" Brittany Burkhardt led the way for SVSU, posting 13 points and eight rebounds in the contest.  She now had 1,010 points for her career.  Sophomore Cheritee Green (Wyoming Park, Mich.) added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Cardinals while Greene had 15 points.  Sophomore Grace Herzog (Linden, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) had three blocks on the evening, tying a school-record with 138 for her career.

SVSU will be back in action on Saturday (2/19), as it travels to Hillsdale College for a 3:00 pm GLIAC contest.  It will be the first match-up between the two teams for the 2010-11 season.