UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team came away with a dominant victory tonight (Feb. 2) at home against Northwood University by a final score of 74-51.

The Lady Cardinals (9-10, 7-8 GLIAC) opened the contest by hitting on 7-of-14 attempts in the first ten minutes of action to give SVSU an 18-13 advantage at the 9:33 mark of the first half. 

Back-to-back field goals in the paint and a pair of free throws from Samantha Zirzow (Goodrich, Mich.) enabled SVSU to push their lead to 29-18 with four minutes to play before halftime.

Saginaw Valley was sound defensively in the first half allowing Northwood (10-11, 7-8 GLIAC) to score just 18 points (SVSU season best) on 19.4 percent shooting. The Cardinals ended the first half on a 9-0 run as they held NU scoreless in the final 6:30 of action.

Freshman Emily Wendling (Flushing, Mich.) came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders as she scored the first seven points for SVSU in the second half. The Cardinals gained a 41-21 edge after an 11-3 run over the first five minutes of play.  

Saginaw Valley continued their dominance in all aspects of the contest by taking a 60-30 lead after Aysha Boston (Detroit, Mich. / Renaissance HS) connected on a three-pointer with 9:58 to play.

The Lady Cardinals led by as many as 33 points on their way to a convincing 74-51 victory after shooting 50 percent (24-for-48) for the contest. Their 23-point margin of victory is tied for SVSU's largest of the season and is their biggest margin of victory over Northwood since 2004.

Briana Graham (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King / Iona) earned Meijer 'Player of the Game' honors from head coach Jamie Pewinski as she was praised for her defensive efforts in the second half. Graham finished with six points on 3-of-7 shooting along with four rebounds. 

Sam Zirzow finished the contest with 14 points and ten rebounds to record the fourth double-double of her sophomore season. Zirzow went 4-for-5 from the field and 6-for-6 from the foul stripe. Emily Wendling posted a team-high 15 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. 

Katelyn Carriere (London, Ontario / John Paul II) dropped in 11 points, while adding seven rebounds. Kayla Womack (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / North HS) also recorded double-figures for Saginaw Valley finishing with ten points. 

The Cardinals held the Timberwolves to just 30.6 percent and also outrebounded Northwood by a 43-32 margin. SVSU was impressive in all categories going 20-for-24 from the free throw line and 6-for-9 from the three-point arc.

SVSU will return to action Thursday (Feb. 7) for a 7:30 PM road contest against Lake Superior State.