UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team eclipsed the century mark in its home victory over Marygrove College on Wednesday night (Nov. 27). The Cardinals posted a 103-45 win over the visiting Mustangs in the team's 2013-14 home opener.
The Cardinals took an early 2-0 lead in the contest on a layup from junior forward Briana Graham. The Mustangs tied the score after a layup of their own, but that's the last time the Cardinals wouldn't hold the lead in the first half and throughout the game.
SVSU worked its lead out to 17 points at the 6:14 mark when a layup by senior guard Kayla Womack made the score 29-12 and again when junior forward Samantha Zirzow made good on a layup with 2:07 left in the half, extending the margin to 38-21.
The largest lead of the half was when Womack made good on the first of her two free throw attempts with just 42 seconds left in the first, giving the Cards a 22 point advantage at 43-21.
That score would stand heading into the halftime break.
Saginaw Valley shot 54.8% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes while holding Marygrove to just 30.8% shooting. The Cardinals were 5-of-10 from three in the first half.
Sophomore guard Katelyn Carriere led all scorers in the first with 10 points. Senior guard Kristen Greene added nine points, four rebounds and six assists.
The second half featured the Cardinals scoring 60 points while closing-out for the 58 point victory.
Sophomore guard Mikayla Silm and freshman guard Abby Schlicher each scored their first-career points in the second frame. Silm was 3-of-5 shooting and scored eight points while Schlicher was 2-for-3 shooting, adding five points.
Carriere finished with a game-high 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting with four rebounds, three steals and two assists and was named the Meijer "Player of the Game."
Graham posted a double-double for the Cards, netting 15 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals.
Junior forward Shelby Herrington also reached double-figures in scoring, adding 13 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
Greene had nine points, seven assists and five rebounds while sophomore guard Alex Green chipped-in with six points, six boards and five assists in 25 minutes of action.
Saginaw Valley out-rebounded the Mustangs by a 48-35 margin and committed only 11 turnovers while forcing 26.
It was the first time the SVSU women's basketball program posted 100 points in a game since January 8, 2002, when the Lady Cardinals had a 103-34 victory over the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
SVSU returns to action on Thursday, December 5th, as it hosts Ohio Dominican University in both teams' Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener. Tip-off for the game is set for 6:00 pm in O'Neill Arena.