SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team defeated Lake Superior State University tonight (Feb. 7) by a 76-65 margin.

Saginaw Valley (10-10, 8-8 GLIAC) started off the contest with a quick 5-0 advantage as they set the tone early on in the contest. Lake Superior (5-15, 4-12 GLIAC) took the lead for a brief 15-second span before SVSU went on a 14-2 run with aggressive rebounding and stellar shooting from beyond the arc and at the free throw line.

The Cardinals pushed their lead to 41-27 at the half thanks to a dominant 24-15 rebounding edge over the Lakers. SVSU went a perfect 12-for-12 from the line, while also firing 5-for-8 from three-point range and recording 10 assists.

Freshman Katelyn Carriere (London, Ontario / John Paul II) displayed perfection in the first half going 4-for-4 from the field, including 3-for-3 from the arc and 4-for-4 from the foul line as she finished with 15 points.

After both offensive units struggled out of the locker room in the first two minutes, Saginaw Valley scored on 10 out of their next 15 possessions as they held on to a 59-48 lead with 9:48 to go. Lake Superior went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and committed one turnover to remain within striking distance.

Lake Superior drew even closer with a mini 7-2 run to bring the Lakers within six (65-59) with 4:39 remaining in the contest.

However, the Cardinals were able to fend off a Laker comeback at the free throw line as SVSU came away with the 76-65 victory to extend their conference winning streak to four games.

Emily Wendling (Flushing, Mich.) excelled in the second half as she took control with 12 points and nine boards in the final twenty minutes of action. Wendling recorded the fifth double-double of her freshman campaign with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Katelyn Carriere earned Meijer 'Player of the Game' honors with a career-high 25 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 10-for-12 from the free throw line. Samantha Zirzow (Goodrich, Mich.) was tough in the paint tonight with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Briana Graham (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance HS) added six points and six boards.

Saginaw Valley dominated the battle on the boards as they outrebounded Lake Superior by a wide 48-31 margin. SVSU fired 41.7 percent from the floor in the victory, while getting to the foul line 12 more times than the Lakers and shooting 79.4 percent (27-of-34).

The four-game winning streak is the first since January 10, 2004 and the first four-game GLIAC streak since February 8, 1999. SVSU head coach Jamie Pewinski was a senior on that 1999 Lady Cardinals squad.

The victory also marks the first 10-win season for SVSU since 2007-2008 and the eight conference wins is the most since the 2006-2007 campaign.

The Lady Cardinals will be back in action this Saturday (Feb. 9) at home to battle Wayne State University at 7:00 PM.