UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team fell by a score of 72-63 to the visiting University of Findlay Oilers on Saturday afternoon (12/11).  The loss drops the Cardinals to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play while the Oilers improve to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in league play.

The first half started off close, as the score was tied three different times in the first 3:53 of the contest.  SVSU would build a six point lead after a layup by senior Brittany Burkhardt (West Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) gave the Cardinals a 12-6 lead.  Findlay would tie the game at 14-14 after a Kayla Brown triple at the 11:15 mark.  The Cardinals would go on a 13-0 run to take a 27-14 advantage after a jumper by sophomore Grace Herzog (Linden, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) with 7:10 remaining in the half.  The Oilers would then go on a 13-2 run of their own to make the score 29-27 in the Cardinals' advantage.  A free throw by Herzog would give SVSU a three point lead, but Findlay's Kayla Brown hit a three pointer to knot the game at 30 points-apiece.  A layup from Findlay's Saira House with seven seconds on the clock would then give the Oilers a 32-30 lead, which is where the score would remain at the half.

The second half was controlled throughout by the Oilers.  SVSU would not get to within six points of Findlay after the 18:29 mark in the second half.  The Oilers led by as many as 17 points, when they held a 72-55 advantage with 1:47 left in the contest.  A triple by senior Kelley Wesp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Glen Este HS), two free throws by Burkhardt and a three-pointer by freshman Kristen Greene (Brown City, Mich.) made the score 72-63 with 32 seconds left, which is what the final score would remain.

Burkhardt was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" after posting team highs with 13 points and seven rebounds.  Greene added 11 points for the Cardinals, who shot 40.7% from the floor.  Sophomore Cheritee Green (Wyoming Park, Mich.) added eight points and six rebounds while Wesp and Herzog each had seven points.

The Cardinals will be in action again when they travel to Lake Superior State University on Saturday, December 18th for a GLIAC North Division match-up.  Tip-off for that contest is set for 3:00 pm.  Lake Superior claimed the first meeting between the teams by a score of 76-64 on December 2nd.