SAULT STE. MARIE – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team hit the road for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup against the Lake Superior State University Lakers on Thursday night (Jan. 15) at Bud Cooper Gymnasium.  The Lady Cardinals struggled from the floor, shooting only 37.1 percent, and fell to the Lakers by a final score of 76-61.

The Lakers opened the game on a 7-0 run in the first minute, but sophomore Emily Wendling put the Lady Cardinals on the board with a three-point play to make the score 7-3 at the 18:48 mark.

SVSU worked its way back and took its first lead of the game (13-12) as senior Samantha Zirzow made good on a layup with less than 16 minutes to play in the opening frame.  Another Wendling layup on the Cardinals' next possession gave the visitors their largest lead of the half at three points (15-12) with 15:07 remaining.

LSSU countered the back-to-back layups by scoring the next 11 points to take a 23-15 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the first half.  A pair of Wendling layups brought the Cards back to within four points at 23-19 but that is as close as SV could get the rest of the opening half. 

Lake Superior opened up its first double-digit lead of the game at 31-21 with 4:08 showing on the clock.  The teams traded a pair of points to make the score 33-23, but senior Briana Graham knocked down her first-career three pointer to bring the Cardinals within seven points (33-26) at the 1:58 marker.

The Lakers held a 38-28 advantage as the teams headed into the halftime break.  Wendling led all scorers with 17 points in the opening 20 minutes.  She pulled in nine rebounds as well.  SVSU shot 40.6 percent (13-for-32) from the field in the first half, but only 1-for-9 from behind the arc.  The Cards assisted on nine of 13 field goals.

Freshman Jessica Alexander scored the first five points for SV to start the second half, including a three-pointer to make the score 43-33 at the 18:18 marker.  The 10-point deficit was the closest that the Cardinals got the rest of the contest.

Down 58-41, SVSU used a Danielle Carriere jumper and Shelby Herrington layup to make the score 58-45 with 9:41 remaining in the half.

LSSU took its largest of the game at 18 points (67-49) with less than seven minutes to play.  Wendling's three-point play brought the Cards back within 13 points at 70-57 at the 3:42 mark.

LSSU shot 43.1 percent (25-for-58) from the floor compared to 37.1 percent (26-for-70) for SVSU.  The Lakers out-scored the Lady Cardinals by a 17-3 margin off of turnovers and 32-13 off the bench.  SV held the advantage on the glass, pulling down 44 boards compared to 40 for LSSU.

Wendling was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" as she recorded her seventh double-double of the season and finished with a game-high 30 points on 14-of-18 shooting and pulled in 13 rebounds.  The sophomore matched a career-high with four blocks in the contest as well.

Zirzow and Alexander each chipped-in with seven points for the Lady Cards.

SVSU falls to 6-9 overall and 1-8 in GLIAC play after the defeat while the Lakers improve to 7-6 overall and 3-6 in league action.

Saginaw Valley returns home to take on GLIAC rival Northwood University (10-5, 6-3 GLIAC) on Saturday night (Jan. 17) at O'Neill Arena.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm.  The Lady Cardinals and Timberwolves split the season series last season, with each team posting a road victory.