MIDLAND - Coming off a season-opening loss to the #9 ranked team in the country in Lewis University, the Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team responded in a big way, claiming a 76-71 victory over St. Joseph's College (Ind.) on Saturday evening (11/15).
The game was part of the 2014 GLIAC/GLVC Challenge and was hosted by Northwood University.
SVSU broke an early 7-7 tie with a mini 5-0 run that featured a layup from sophomore Emily Wendling and three-pointer from freshman Jessica Alexander, making the score 12-7 in the Cardinals' favor.
The Pumas responded with a little run of their own, scoring seven straight points to grab a 14-12 lead at the 15:59 mark.
SV would score the next six points to re-take the lead at 18-14 with 13:20 left in the opening half, using a triple from junior Alex Green and a free throw from senior Samantha Zirzow to cap-off the run.
The Cards built their lead out to six points three different times in the first half, the last coming at the 8:02 marker when Zirzow made good on a layup to make the score 29-23.
St. Joseph's fought back, however, and grabbed a 37-35 lead with 2:34 left in the half.
Wendling would get fouled and drain a pair of free throws with just over a minute left in the period, tying the game at 37-37.
The teams would each add a pair of points before time would expire in the first half, going into the break tied at 39-39.
Wendling had a big opening 20 minutes of action for SV, scoring 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half while adding four rebounds. Zirzow had eight first half points with three rebounds and three assists.
SV jumped out in front quickly in the second half, pushing the lead out to five on another Green three-pointer at the 18:09 mark with the score 44-39 in the Cardinals' favor.
The Pumas worked their way back and would eventually take a 53-51 lead with 11:38 to play in the game. It would prove to be their only lead of the second half.
After the teams traded buckets back-and-forth and the game would have four ties, the last coming at 60-60 and 7:16 left, SVSU used a pair of Wendling freebies to take a 62-60 lead.
It was a lead the Cardinals would not relinquish, as they built their lead back out to five points, a lead they would hold five more times in the game.
St. Joe's pulled to within three points at 74-71 but Wendling was fouled once more with three seconds remaining. She drained another two freebies to close-out the five point win, 76-71.
Wendling was stellar from the foul line in the game, making good on 9-of-11 attempts against the Pumas. She used the good foul shooting to go along with making 12-of-19 shots from the field as she posted a career-high 33 points. She added a game-high eight rebounds and was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" for her performance.
Green also had a career night scoring, making five three-pointers on eight attempts for a career-best 15 points. Zirzow reached double-figures in scoring for SV as well, netting 12 points with five rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals. Alexander added nine points, five assists and four boards for SVSU.
Saginaw Valley posted a slim 30-28 advantage on the glass over St. Joe's and held the edge in second chance points, 15-0. The Lady Cardinals also posted a 34-24 positive margin for points in the paint.
"It was a great team effort tonight and it feels good to get that first win," said SVSU Head Coach Jamie Pewinski about her team's performance on Saturday. "Obviously Emily had a huge game, but we also got great effort at the defensive end from Graham (Briana) and Sam (Zirzow) and a career offensive game from Alex (Green). These were two games that taught us a lot about ourselves and we look forward to getting back to practice this week."
The Lady Cardinals (1-1) go to work before traveling North to Alaska to compete in the North Star Invitational from November 27th-29th. The tournament features a three game slate for SVSU, which begins with an 8:00 pm contest against the host institution, the University of Alaska, on the 27th.