UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team, defeated -Wayne State 72-68 in an overtime thriller to begin Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play with a win. The Cardinals made an impressive comeback with a game that was neck and neck for the entire 45 minutes of play.
"It's always fun to get conference wins, but even in better fashion when you win in overtime against a great team, with an awesome crowd," said SVSU women's basketball head coach Jenny Pruett.
Kaitlyn Zarycki was the leading scorer for Saginaw Valley with 23 points. Zarycki added a team-high seven assists, six rebounds, and four steals to her totals. Tori DePerry scored 17 points in her return for the Cardinals. DePerry shot 7-13 from the floor and also capped her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. Victoria Stafford added 14 points on 6-8 shooting off the bench to help seal the win for SVSU. Jessica Massey made the effort plays with five steals and also dished six assists to go along with her six points in the winning effort.
The Cardinals got things started with two made layups to hop out to a lead of 4-2 in the first minute of play. The Warriors held on strong with back-to-back jump shots to tie the game 8-8 with six minutes left of the quarter. The Warriors launched an 8-0 run to take the lead in the final two minutes of the period. Zarycki made a lay-up through contact and completed the and-one to cut the deficit to five points, 16-11, before the first quarter ended.
Wayne State extended the lead to eight after sinking a layup and a three-pointer to begin the second quarter. SVSU hit three back-to-back layups to bring the score to 23-17 with five minutes remaining. Zarycki put in two free throws, and senior Tyler Scheid made a layup to bring the margin to one possession with 4:20 remaining until halftime. Three-point jumpers from Wayne State pushed the lead back to eight, but Zarycki hit a jump shot and two additional free throws to half the deficit in the final minute. Stafford came in clutch with a made three-pointer in the final four seconds, leaving the score 31-30 at the half.
DePerry got things going in the second half with a jumper from distance that gave the Cardinals a 33-31 lead after a scoreless opening three minutes. The Warriors tied things up at 35 until Zarycki hit a three to tilt the advantage back toward SVSU with 3:46 remaining. Two free throws by WSU brought the score within one point before Stafford made a layup, and DePerry hit from beyond the arc to push the edge to 43-37 with 2:37 left in the period. Wayne State responded with a three, but Emma Dziezgowski hit her shot from deep, and Stafford followed with three more points to grow a nine-point lead in the final seconds. The Warriors hit the final shot of the third to cut the lead to 49-42.
The Cardinals held onto a small lead for most of the fourth quarter until six-straight points from WSU knotted the score at 58 with 1:43 left in regulation. A series of turnovers from both sides kept the score stagnate as the buzzer ended regulation and the game moved into overtime.
The extra period began with the teams trading buckets up to a tie at 62. A missed free throw by the Warriors allowed Zarycki's jumper to take the lead, 64-63, with 2:38 remaining on the clock. Wayne State rallied to tie the game at 68. A layup from Zarycki was followed by an empty possession from the Warriors as the Cardinals held onto to earn the four-point victory.
UP NEXT
The SVSU women's basketball team will return to action on Friday, December 9, for a 6:00 PM tip against Parkside inside James E O'Neill Jr. Arena.