YPSILANTI, Mich. – Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball ended the 2023 calendar year with a 69-44 loss to Eastern Michigan University. A match-up that hasn't seen action in over 40 years was reborn Friday afternoon as the Cardinals ended their holiday road trip in Ypsilanti.
The Cardinals were led by Jessica Massey and Lauren Sollom with eight points each. Victoria Stafford had six points along with five from Lydia Meredith and four from Aleshia Jones, Emma Riley, and Maggie Keinsley. Massey led the team with eight rebounds and Meredith had four steals of the Cardinals 15. Five Cardinals also had two steals each including Tyler Scheid, Saniaa Walker, Mari Bink, Riley, and Keinsley.
Meredith hit the first shot of the game with a layup just ten seconds after the opening tip. A 4-0 run with buckets from Meredith and Massey made it 6-2 SVSU early on. The Eagles went on a 15-2 run to storm ahead 17-8 before Keinsley made a jumper to end the run. Eastern hit the last shot of the quarter to finish up 19-10 after ten minutes.
An Eastern 5-0 run started the second quarter to push their lead to 14 before a 5-0 run for the Cardinals got them back within single-digits. After a layup for EMU, Saginaw Valley controlled the remainder of the quarter. Closing out on a 7-3 run to pull within seven points going into the halftime break. The Cardinals got points from a Keinsley layup, a Sollom three, and a free throw from Scheid and Meredith.
The second half started with four points for both teams to keep the differential the same. A 6-2 run for Eastern started to push the lead as they got it back into double figures. The Eagles kept their foot on the gas outscoring SVSU 8-4 as the Cardinals got points from a Massey layup and two free throws by Stafford and Saginaw Valley trailed 47-33 heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter started slow for Saginaw Valley as they were outscored 12-1 in the first five minutes. Free throws from Sollom and Walker cut into the Eagles lead but couldn't rally the Cardinals. EMU finished the game outscoring SVSU 10-6 as the Cardinals got a free throw from both Walker and Makayla Mau along with a bucket and two free throws from Riley down the stretch.
With the loss, the Cardinals are 3-9 overall and 0-2 in GLIAC play. Saginaw Valley ends their non-conference schedule and when the calendar flips to 2024, SVSU will only have conference games ahead of them. They welcome the Parkside Rangers (6-3, 0-2) on Thursday, January 4 with the opening tip set for 6:00 PM EST.