HOUGHTON, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team lost a hard-fought contest on the road to the Michigan Tech University Huskies by a score of 73-63 on the back end of its trip through the Upper Peninsula in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action.
Despite trailing by just two (63-61) with just under three minutes left to play, the Cards were out-scored by a 10-2 margin the rest of the way and the Huskies closed-out for the 10 point victory.
Tech grabbed an early lead and held onto the advantage until a three-pointer from senior guard Kristen Greene knotted the score at 15-15 with 13:13 left to play in the half.
Tech responded with a 6-0 run to hold a 21-15 edge and extended its lead to 33-25 at the 3:43 marker.
SVSU would cut the deficit to 37-31 following a pair of free throws by Greene heading into the halftime break.
Saginaw Valley posted a 17-14 rebounding edge in the opening 20 minutes of play and Tech held the slight edge in overall shooting, 50.0% (16-32) to 48.1% (13-27).
Scoring for the second half would start off with both teams going back-and-forth. A Katelyn Carriere with 14:28 left to play would cut the Tech lead to 46-43. Carriere would connect on a pair of free throws with 9:56 left as well to draw the game's score to within two points at 51-49.
After the Huskies opened-up a six point lead at 57-51, the Cards would eventually close the gap to a pair of points once again with 4:37 left in the game and the score 61-59 after a pair of Samantha Zirzow freebies and again after a Zirzow layup with 2:51 left and the score 63-61.
Tech then would score 10 out of the next 12 points to claim the 73-63 win.
The Lady Cardinals finished with a 38-31 advantage on the glass and scored 15 bench points, while all of the Huskies' scoring on the afternoon came from their five starters.
Zirzow posted a team-high 18 points in the contest, adding six boards and two assists. She was 6-of-7 shooting and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe, being named the Meijer "Player of the Game" following her effort.
Carriere added 15 points and seven assists, one shy of her career-high of eight dimes. Greene reached double-figures in scoring, netting 11 points and adding a team-high eight rebounds.
With the loss, SVSU falls to 12-9 for the 2013-14 season and 10-8 in the GLIAC. Tech improves to 17-6 overall and 15-4 in league play.
The Lady Cardinals continue on the road, playing at rival Grand Valley State University on the last game of their four-game road swing. They square-off with the Lakers on Thursday (Feb. 20) at 6:00 pm in Allendale. Saginaw Valley posted a 12 point victory over GVSU earlier this season, a 91-79 victory in University Center.