UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team fought hard in their game against the Michigan Tech Huskies but fell 69-53 in the first game of the New Year. 

Tori DePerry led the way with a career-high of 31 points and led the team with eight rebounds. Freshmen Lydia Meredith also had a career-high in points, with 10. Jessica Massey contributed four assists and two steals on the evening.

"We were reactive to what they were doing and didn't really set the tone early… We changed a few things in the locker room and came out the second half a different team," said SVSU women's basketball head coach Jenny Pruett.

The Huskies hit back-to-back 3-point jumpers in the first two minutes of play and never trailed. DePerry hit a two-point jumper in the paint through contact off a Husky turnover and completed the and-one to cut the lead to 8-7 with 5:31 remaining in the first. Meredith hit both free throws to tie the score before a 3-point jumper sparked an 11-0 run to give Michigan Tech a 20-9 lead in the final two minutes of the quarter.

DePerry scored 12 of her 31 points in the second quarter, despite the Huskies holding a 42-25 lead at the half.

The Cardinals came out hot in the second half as they began play with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 12 with 5:58 to pay in the third stanza. The deficit would remain at 12, 53-41 when the third quarter changed to the fourth.

The Cardinals cut the lead to single digits following two made free throws from DePerry that put the score at 58-50 with 6:09 to play in regulation. Meredith made two free throws to keep the deficit at eight before an 7-0 run by MTU put the deficit back to 15 to seal the win for the Huskies.

UP NEXT

The SVSU women's basketball team will return to action on Saturday, January 7, in the O'Neill Arena. Tipoff against the Northern Michigan Wildcats is set for 1:00 PM.