UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team prevailed 73-70 tonight (Jan. 26) against Ferris State University in overtime. With the victory, the Cardinals jump to 7-10 overall and 5-8 in the GLIAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 10-7 and 9-5 in conference play.
Saginaw Valley and Ferris were locked up in a tight battle when Danielle Carriere (London, Ontario / John Paul II) helped SVSU regain the lead 11-10 with a successful jumper. However, the Bulldogs responded with a 7-0 run to take a 17-11 lead with nine minutes to play.
The Lady Cardinals answered the FSU run with a 6-0 streak of their own to trail by just one (17-16) with 7:28 to go until halftime.
After trailing for the much of the half, Meijer 'Player of the Game' Katelyn Carriere (London, Ontario / John Paul II) gave the Cardinals momentum and a 25-23 lead going into halftime as she hit a three-pointer just before the buzzer.
Freshman Emily Wendling (Flushing, Mich.) led the Cardinals with seven points and seven rebounds in the first half, while SVSU also held a 24-17 rebounding advantage, which included a 9-4 edge on the offensive boards.
The back-and-forth action continued in the second half as Alex Green (East Lansing, Mich.) knocked down her first triple of the season to give SVSU the 32-30 lead once again with 14:44 to play.
SVSU and Ferris would exchange the lead 16 times in the second half alone as Ferris held a 60-56 advantage after an Emily Wendling bucket in the paint cut the deficit to four with 2:30 left.
With one minute to play in regulation, Katelyn Carriere gave the Cardinals their first lead since the 8:24 mark as she tripled from beyond the arc to give SVSU the 63-62 edge. The bucket capped off a clutch 7-0 run for Saginaw Valley.
After Ferris took the 64-63 lead, Katelyn Carriere once again came through in a big spot with 25 seconds remaining and canned a three-point bucket from the right corner off a pass from Emily Wendling to give SVSU the 66-64 advantage.
On the ensuing Bulldog possession, FSU managed to knot up the contest at 66-66 on a drive to the bucket as the contest when into overtime.
Sam Zirzow (Goodrich, Mich.) gave Saginaw Valley their first lead (69-68) in the overtime session when she split at the free throw line after grabbing her own miss with 1:47 remaining on the clock.
Emily Wendling pushed the SVSU edge to three (71-68) with 37 seconds to go as she scrambled for a loose ball and converted in the paint.
The Bulldogs cut the Cardinal lead to one with a floating jumper, but Kayla Womack (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / North HS) stepped to the line, after Ferris was forced to foul, and connected on a pair of free throws with seven seconds to go.
Ferris State had a last-second look at a three-pointer that rattled in-and-out as the Lady Cardinals prevailed in overtime to snap their four-game skid, 73-70.
The contest featured 21 lead changes and nine ties as both teams fired 40.3 percent from the field. The Cardinals managed to outrebound the Bulldogs by a 43-36 margin and led the second chance points category, 17-7.
Emily Wendling posted her sixth double-double of the year with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 11 rebounds. Katelyn Carriere tied her career-high for the third time with 15 points and five assists, which included 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Kayla Womack also chipped with 13 points and five rebounds, including the two big free throws down the stretch.
The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team will return to action Wednesday (Jan. 30) for a 6:00 PM home contest against Lake Erie College.