COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Cardinal Women's Basketball team fell by a final score of 76-74 to Ohio Dominican on a final second coast-to-coast basket by the Panthers. SVSU found themselves down at halftime trailing the Panthers by one point. The Cardinals fought back to take the lead late in the fourth quarter but weren't able to pull out the victory and dropped the tight regional contest.
Kaitlyn Geers led the scoring and rebounding columns for the Cardinals in the first quarter with five points and four rebounds, but the Cardinals were outscored, 21-14.
Saginaw Valley outscored the Panthers 19-13 in the second quarter, entering halftime down one. Tori DePerry led the scoring for SVSU with five and added a steal and a board in the quarter.
In the third quarter, the Cardinals outscored the Panthers 16-15, knotting the game at 49-49 as the teams headed to the final quarter of action. Kaitlyn Zarycki added 6 of her team leading 19 points in the third quarter and the Cardinals shot for 41.0% from the floor.
The Cardinals and the Panthers went point-for-point in the fourth quarter with the final bucket falling for the Panthers. Ohio Dominican took the ball coast-to-coast scoring the game winning basket as the game clock expired. With the final basket falling for the Panthers, Ohio Dominican escaped with the narrow two-point victory, 76-74.
Inside the Boxscore
- Zarycki had a team-high 19 points coming off the bench for the Cardinals and added a pair of rebounds and assists.
- Ashley Buchholz had 17 points of her own and added six boards. The 17 points is a new career-high for her. She was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" in the victory.
- Geers registered double-digits in scoring as well, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
- DePerry had seven points and five rebounds for the Cards.
From Head Coach Jenny Pruett...
"I couldn't have asked for a more hard fought game. They gave it all for 40 minutes. I am proud of these girls. ODU just beat the No. 20 team in the country and they are a great basketball team. We are fighting with the best of them and proving we can compete with anyone in the country."
Up Next...
SVSU continues on the road on Thursday, December 5 when it begins GLIAC play at Michigan Tech. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. in Houghton.
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