CANTON, Ohio - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team held on in the final seconds to defeat Malone University today (Dec. 15) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest by a score of 55-53.

The Cardinals took a quick 8-4 lead in the first half on three consecutive layups by Emily Wendling (Flushing, Mich. / Flushing HS), who would finish the contest with 12 points and seven rebounds. However, early foul trouble limited Wendling to just seven minutes in the first half.

With Wendling on the bench, Saginaw Valley surged into halftime with a 31-21 lead. "Meijer Player of the Game," Kristen Greene (Brown City, Mich. / Brown City HS) led the first half charge, scoring 11 of her game-high 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the free throw line. Samantha Zirzow (Goodrich, Mich. / Goodrich HS) chipped in with eight points, shooting 4-of-7 from the floor.

For the first half, the Lady Cardinals shot 43 percent from the floor, while limiting the Pioneers to just 24 percent.

Saginaw Valley scored the first five points of the second half to balloon their lead to fifteen (36-21) with 18:46 to play in the contest. However, Malone would slowly chip away at the lead and close to within one point (47-46) with 5:16 left in the game.

The Cardinals answered back with a pair of free throws by Wendling and a three-point jumper by Kayla Womack (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North HS) to go up 52-46 with just over two minutes to play. A late charge by the Pioneers came up short and Saginaw Valley held on for the 55-53 victory.

The Cardinals distributed the ball well and finished with four players scoring double-digit points, including 10 points from Zirzow and Womack. Saginaw Valley also played tough defense, holding Malone to just 29 percent shooting from the floor and 4-of-24 (17 percent) from behind the three-point line.

With the win, the Cardinals improve to 3-4 overall on the season and 2-2 in the GLIAC, while Malone falls to 5-3 on the season and 2-3 in the conference.