GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball went to Davenport University Monday evening and came out with a 68-51 victory over the Panthers. The Cardinals (5-12, 2-5 GLIAC) originally were set to play Davenport (3-14, 1-6 GLIAC) over a week ago, but after the weather postponed the game, the teams finally met this season.

SVSU was led by Aleshia Jones with 22 points shooting 6-for-11 with a season-best 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Victoria Stafford scored 14 shooting 6-for-10 from the floor. Jessica Massey and Lydia Meredith were both in double figures scoring 11 and 10 respectively while Meredith led the team with eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

The Cardinals shot 49% from the floor knocking down 25 of 51 shots and also shot 15-for-17 from the charity stripe. Saginaw Valley capitalized on the turnover game winning the battle 17-13 along with generating five more steals with a total of 10. The Cardinals led in points off of turnovers 21-12.

Massey hit the first shot of the game before an answer by Davenport. Jones and Massey both hit a shot each to give SVSU an early 6-2 lead. The Panthers used a 10-2 run to get ahead 12-8 before a 5-2 run coming from layups by Meredith and Stafford along with a free throw to end the quarter with DU up 14-13.

The teams traded leads early in the second quarter. A bucket by Tyler Scheid and two free throws by Jones put the Cardinals ahead 17-16. Saginaw Valley upped the pressure with a 13-2 run aided by three made shots by Stafford and SVSU had a double-digit lead up 30-18. Davenport closed the half on a 6-2 run with two threes, but Saginaw Valley had an eight-point lead heading into the halftime break up 32-24.

A 5-2 run for SVSU coming from three free throws and a Meredith layup extended the lead to 11. Davenport retaliated with a 5-0 run, but Saginaw Valley scored seven unanswered in return with Dziezgowski hitting a three to cap it off. Leading 44-31, the Cardinals closed the quarter scoring 10 of the final 14 points with more free throws by Jones, along with Meredith and Massey both hitting a shot each.

A commanding 19-point lead with 10 minutes remaining stood tall for Saginaw Valley. Both teams traded two buckets each before Stafford hit a deep jumper half way through the quarter to give SVSU its largest lead of the game up 60-39. A 4-0 run for Davenport was answered by another Dziezgowski three pointer. The Panthers knocked down some shots from the free throw line down the stretch, but Mari Bink drained a three late for her first career points as SVSU claimed the 17-point victory.

Saginaw Valley women's basketball comes back home this week. They will host Lake Superior State University (1-15, 0-7 GLIAC) on Thursday, January 25, before hosting a ranked opponent in Ferris State on Saturday. Tip-off on Thursday is set for 6:00 PM from O'Neill Arena.