The Basics

Score: #6 Saginaw Valley 69, #3 Bellarmine 58 -  Midwest Regional Quarterfinals
Records: SVSU (22-8) | #20 BU (24-4)
Location: Kates Gymnasium - Ashland, Ohio

ASHLAND, Ohio - The SVSU women's basketball team was in a familiar setting on Friday, as the Lady Cardinals played at Ashland University for the second straight time in as many weekends. This weekend it was for a matchup with the Bellarmine University Knights in the 2016 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Quarterfinals. 

Saginaw Valley came to play in the team's first NCAA postseason appearance in 23 years, putting together a complete effort in taking-down the nationally 20th-ranked Knights by a score of 69-58 at Ashland's Kates Gymnasium.

After a brief Bellarmine lead to begin the game, SVSU earned a 6-3 lead after layups from Danielle Carriere and Emily Wendling with 6:50 showing on the clock.

The Knights worked their way back and took a 9-6 lead, only to have the Cards go back up by three (12-9) with 2:09 left in the opening quarter. Bellarmine tied the game up at 12-12 but Saginaw Valley closed the frame out with a bucket from Alex Green and two free throws from Wendling to end the quarter leading 16-12.

SVSU moved the lead out to nine points at 24-15 after consecutive buckets from Katelyn Carriere and Grace Whelan, the latter coming at the 5:29 marker of the second quarter. 

Bellarmine then went on to score the next eight points, trimming the Cardinal lead to 24-23 with 2:56 showing on the clock. A Wendling layup followed and she would hit another jumper in response to a pair of Knight free throws, giving SV a 28-25 advantage heading into the halftime break.

The Saginaw Valley lead would reach double-digits for the first time after a Danielle Carriere layup with 1:37 left in the third quarter, making the score 43-33. Wendling would follow with a layup of her own to make the score 45-33. The lead was 47-37 after the third quarter in favor of the Cards after a layup from Hannah Settingsgaard.

SV held the lead and pushed it out to as many as 14 points (55-41) with 4:58 to go in the contest when Anna Hall connected on a layup. The Knights would not get any closer than seven points from there, as solid free throw shooting and stellar defense kept the Cardinals in the lead and sealed the 11-point victory for them, 69-58.

Inside the Boxscore

• Wendling and Danielle Carriere each posted a team-high 15 points in the game. Carriere added a team-best seven boards, three assists, one block and a steal. Wendling had five boards and a pair of assists.
• Halee Nieman reached double-figures in scoring as well, netting 10 points with two rebounds, an assist and a block.
• Green had a solid all-around game, matching the team-high of seven rebounds while adding six points and a steal. The seven boards marks a career-best for Green.
• Hall posted six points, six boards, an assist and steal while Katelyn Carriere went for seven points, three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
• SVSU shot 46.7% (21-of-45) in the contest while holding the Knights to a mark of 28.6% (18-of-63). 
• Both teams were stellar from the foul line, with the Cards hitting on 26-of-30 (86.7%) of their tries and Bellarmine going 19-of-23 (82.6%) from the charity stripe. 
• The Knights were out-rebounded by a 39-33 margin but held a 16-8 edge in offensive boards in the contest. 
• SVSU won the battle in the paint 34-20 and the Cardinal bench outscored the Knights 25-7.
• The victory over the nationally-ranked Knights was the first for SVSU over a ranked opponent since an 85-78 win at Wayne State on February 8, 2014. The Warriors were ranked no. 18 in the nation at that point.
• The win marked just the second for the program since it joined the ranks of the NCAA Division II. The only other came on March 12, 1993. That was an 81-76 victory over Indianapolis. 
• The victory also marked the first NCAA regional win in the head coaching career of Jamie Pewinski, now in her fifth season at the helm of the Lady Cardinal program.

Meijer "Player of the Game"

Danielle Carriere earned Meijer "Player of the Game" honors after scoring a team-high 15 points, also matching a team-best with seven rebounds. She added three assists, a steal and a block. Carriere was 4-of-8 from the floor shooting and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

Up Next for Saginaw Valley

Saginaw Valley awaits the winner of the no. 2 Lewis vs. no. 7 Grand Valley State game, which immediately followed SVSU's contest against Bellarmine. The semifinals matchup is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. at Kates Gymnasium.

Postgame Press Conference

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