Nieman and Wendling Each Score 23 in Victory Over Dragons

Freshman forward Halee Nieman posted career-highs with 23 points and seven rebounds in the win over Tiffin...
Freshman forward Halee Nieman posted career-highs with 23 points and seven rebounds in the win over Tiffin...

The Basics

Score: Saginaw Valley 76 , Tiffin 59
Records: SVSU (4-3, 1-1 GLIAC) | TU (2-4, 0-2 GLIAC)
Location: James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena - University Center, Mich.

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The SVSU women's basketball team responded to Thursday's loss to Ohio Dominican in a big way, as the Lady Cardinals evened their 2015-16 GLIAC record with a decisive 76-59 victory over the Tiffin University Dragons at SVSU's O'Neill Arena.

Saginaw Valley got 23 points-apiece from freshman Halee Nieman and junior Emily Wendling to pace the offensive attack in the coast-to-coast victory for the home squad.

Nieman was responsible for the first five SVSU points, as she opened the game with a layup and added a three-pointer at the 7:47 mark of the opening quarter to give her team the 5-0 advantage. 

The Dragons worked their way back and would tie the score three different times, the last coming with 58 seconds left in the frame and the score 13-13. 

SVSU sophomore Grace Whelan would hit a jumper, however, with 44 ticks left on the clock to put the home team up 15-13 and that score would hold true into the first break.

After Tiffin tied the game at 15-15 briefly to open the second quarter, the Cards would build a double-digit lead at 30-20 with 2:58 showing on the clock for the first half. Buckets from junior Katelyn Carriere and freshman Anna Hall gave SV its 10-point edge.

Another triple from Nieman made the lead 11 points (33-22) with just over a minute to play but a late score from the Dragons cut the score to 33-24 at the half in SVSU's advantage.

Nieman had 13 first half points to go along with five boards for the Cards. Carriere added six points and three assists.

A big third quarter that saw the Cardinals score 25 points and hold the Dragons to 18 gave the home team a 58-42 lead heading into the final quarter. 

Four points from Nieman to open the fourth quarter gave Saginaw Valley its first lead of at least 20 points in the game, pushing the score out to 62-42 with 9:14 showing on the clock. SVSU would lead by as many as 21 points with 3:38 to play when sophomore Jessica Alexander made good on a jumper to make the score 72-51.

Saginaw Valley would hold strong and close out for a 17-point victory, 76-59, upping its record to 4-3 overall on the season with an even 1-1 mark in league play.

Inside the Boxscore

  • Nieman notched career-highs with 23 points and seven rebounds in the win. She was 9-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three. Both totals were game-highs for Saturday afternoon.
  • Wendling matches Nieman's 23 points and added six boards in the game. She went a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line as well. She now sits just 12 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
  • Anna Hall contributed nine points and three assists to the Cardinal effort.
  • Katelyn Carriere had a game and season high of six assists to go along with eight points.
  • SV owned a 46.0 % (29-63) to 37.3% (22-59) edge in overall shooting. The Cards were also solid from the charity stripe, going 14-of-16.
  • Saginaw Valley out-rebounded Tiffin 43-31 and posted a 38-25 advantage in points in the paint.
  • Alison Schirmer and Bre Nauman led the Dragons with 16 and 10 points, respectively. 

Meijer "Player of the Game"

Nieman was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" after her strong effort with career-highs in points (23) and rebounds (7).

From Head Coach Jamie Pewinski...


 

Up Next for Saginaw Valley

Saginaw Valley is off until Saturday (Dec. 12) when the Cards play at Ashland University in a 1:00 p.m. contest. The Eagles (6-0, 2-0 GLIAC) are coming off a 64-44 road victory at Ferris State University.