MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team played its final road game of the regular season in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Northern Michigan University on Saturday in Marquette, Mich.

The Cardinals used a 17-0 run early in the third quarter to pull away from the Wildcats and held off a fourth-quarter rally from NMU to earn the 56-49 win. The victory moves SVSU to 14-9 overall and 9-7 in the GLIAC.

How it Happened:

• Both teams started out slow from the field, with the Wildcats leading 2-1 over five minutes into the contest.
• The Wildcats heated up from deep later in the first, hitting 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions and building a 9-5 lead.
• The inside scoring of Kyndall Spires and Tori DePerry kept the Cardinals close early, as NMU led 16-13 midway through the second quarter.
• The Cardinals took their first lead of the game on the second 3-pointer from Maddie Maloney and SVSU led 21-19 at the break.
• SVSU pulled away with a 17-0 run early in the third quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers from Maloney.
• After the Wildcats made a run to cut the Cardinal lead to eight points, Kaitlyn Zarycki hit a buzzer-beating jumper to give SVSU a 42-32 lead after the third.
• The Cardinals held off a late rally from the Wildcats and escaped with the win.

Inside the Box Score:

• Maddie Maloney led the Cardinals with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including four 3-pointers.
• Tori DePerry added 12 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double.
• Tyler Scheid provided nine points and eight rebounds.
• The Cardinals shot 22-of-50 from the field, 5-of-15 from deep, and 7-of-11 from the line. SVSU outrebounded NMU 35-29.
• Kayla Tierney led the Wildcats with 14 points off the bench.

Up Next:

The Cardinals return home for the final three games of the regular season, starting against Michigan Tech at 6 pm Tuesday at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.