UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team hosted the Northwood University Timberwolves on Wednesday (2/9) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest. Despite a first half lead for the Cardinals, the Timberwolves bounced-back in the second half to claim a 70-64 victory.
Northwood grabbed the first lead of the game after a pair of free throws from Rachel Church a minute into the game. The Cardinals would bounce back to score the next eight points to grab a 10-4 lead at the 16:12 mark following a three-pointer by junior Marah Kyle (Bluffton, Ind.). SVSU used a pair of free throws by sophomore Aysha Boston (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) to grab a 19-9 lead at the 12:29 mark, and would extend the lead to twelve points after a jumper from senior Brittany Burkhardt (West Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) with 7:45 remaining in the half, when the Cardinals led 28-16.
A triple from freshman Kayla Womack (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North HS) at the 3:03 mark gave the Cards a 37-22 lead before SVSU closed-out the first half with another layup from Womack with 42 seconds left to head into the locker room leading by 17 at the half, 42-25.
Senior Kelley Wesp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Glen Este HS) led the way offensively in the first half, going a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor, including a pair of triples. Womack had eight points in nine minutes off the bench for SVSU, while Boston and Kyle each added six points. Sophomore Cheritee Green (Wyoming Park, Mich.) led all rebounders in the first half with six.
The Cardinals maintained the lead, and after the first media timeout of the second half, led by 14 points after a free throw by Womack at the 14:11 mark which gave SVSU a 47-33 lead. Northwood came all the way back and use eight points after the 7:38 mark to grab a one-point lead following three foul shots from Rachel Church. The visitors would extend the lead to five points after another Church triple with 3:58 remaining, which gave the Timberwolves a 61-56 lead. The Cards would close the gap to 65-63 with 34 seconds left after a pair of freebies from Jasmine Kennedy (Harper Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North HS), but Northwood would go 4-of-4 on free throws the rest of the way to finish with the 70-64 victory.
Boston earned Meijer "Player of the Game" plaudits after finishing with team-highs in points (11) and assists (6). Kennedy also had 11 points for the Cardinals. Wesp chipped-in with nine points while Womack also added nine.
The Cardinals fall to 6-15 overall and 4-11 in the GLIAC while Northwood improves to 11-9 overall and 7-7 in league play. SVSU will be back in action on Saturday (2/12), when in travels to take-on Urbana University in a non-conference tilt . Tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
