SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team made the most of their road trip as they defeated Armstrong Atlantic State University, 82-64. The Cardinals improve to 4-5 overall on the season, while the Pirates drop to 5-4.

The Lady Cardinals started the contest on an 11-2 run as they controlled the glass in the opening minutes. Saginaw Valley used smart shot selection to increase their advantage to 31-16 at the 5:06 mark of the first half.

SVSU entered the break with a 38-27 lead as they shot 16-of-31 (51.7 percent) from the field and held a 23-14 rebounding margin over the Pirates. Nine Cardinals entered the scoring column in the first half.

Armstrong attempted to make a comeback in the second half as they narrowed the SVSU margin to 53-45 at the 11:57 mark. However, the Cardinals responded by pushing their lead to 20 with six minutes to play in regulation after a pair of free throws by Meijer 'Player of the Game' Kristen Greene (Brown City, Mich.).

The Lady Cardinals fired 64 percent from the field in the second half as they picked up the 82-64 road victory to finish 2012 with momentum heading into the new year.

Kristen Greene had a career day for SVSU as she poured in a career-high 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting along with seven rebounds and five assists.

Freshman Emily Wendling (Flushing, Mich.) finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with six rebounds to pace the Cardinals in the paint. Katelyn Carriere (London, Ontario / John Paul II) also dropped in 10 points of her own.

The 82-point offensive output is a season best for the Cardinals as they shot a season-high 57.1 percent from the field going 32-for-56. SVSU was also 14-for-17 (82.4 percent) from the line and dominated the boards by a 40-25 margin on their way to the road victory.

Saginaw Valley will return to action this Thursday (Jan. 3) at 8:00 PM when they continue the home portion of GLIAC play against Findlay.