The Basics

Score: Saginaw Valley 73, Hillsdale 55
Records: SVSU (20-7, 17-5 GLIAC) | HC (10-16, 7-15 GLIAC)
Location: James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena - University Center, Mich.

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The SVSU women's basketball team hosted Hillsdale College in the final regular season game of the 2015-16 season looking to remain atop the GLIAC North Division standings. The Lady Cardinals would do just that, overcoming a five point halftime deficit to outscore the Chargers by a 38-15 count in the final 20 minutes of play and come away with the 73-55 victory. 

The win sealed a share of the 2015-16 GLIAC North Division Championship for Saginaw Valley, marking the first for the program in the 20 years the league has crowned division winners. It also put the Cards at 20 wins for the season, the first time that has happened since the 1997-98 season. 

Hillsdale took the lead early on in Thursday's game, notching two buckets to lead 4-0 by the 8:38 minute mark.

The Cardinals came back to tie the score and then take the lead, 8-7 after Halee Nieman made two free throws with 6:08 showing on the clock. Saginaw Valley took their largest lead of the period, 14-9 after a jump shot from Alex Green and two more free throws from Nieman. 

The Chargers came back to tie it up 14-14 at the 3:27 marker after a shot from Allie Dewire and after the lead changed hands a couple of times, Hillsdale maintained the lead and built a 25-20 edge as the first quarter expired.

Emily Wendling cut the lead to two at the start of the second frame with a three-point play at the 9:20 minute mark. The Cardinals stayed within five points of Hillsdale until Wendling cut it down again with a pair of free throws, making the score 30-29 with Hillsdale ahead. Grace Whelan hit a layup to tie it up at 31-31 with 4:33 left in the half.

Hillsdale responded with seven consecutive points to make the score 38-31 in its favor and would lead 40-33 with 40 seconds left in the half. 

Hannah Settingsgaard cut into that a bit, however, with a pair of free throws at the end of the second quarter, cutting the deficit to 40-35 as the half ended.

Anna Hall tied it up 41 all in the third period with two free throws, followed by a layup at the 7:27 mark.

Hillsdale came back and would lead by six points twice, the second coming with the score 50-44 with 3:44 left in the third.

The Cards would respond in a huge way from there, as Settingsgaard sparked a 26-0 run with a jump shot and the home team would hold a 70-50 lead with just 2:35 left in the contest. Katelyn Carriere posted 10 of the points while Nieman, Whelan, Hall, Danielle Carriere and Wendling all joined in on the fantastic stretch of basketball.

SV continued to shut out Hillsdale in the final quarter until the last two minutes of the game when Kayla Geffert hit a three with 1:49 left on the clock. Danielle Carriere made three more free throws to put the Cardinals back up by 20 with 1:05 left in the game. Ashlyn Landherr then hit a jump shot for the visitors with 33 seconds left, cutting SV's lead to 18 and ending the game with Saginaw Valley ahead, 73-55.

Inside the Boxscore

• Wendling scored a game-high 17 points, adding seven rebounds, a block and an assist. She was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line in her 25 minutes of action as well.
• Danielle Carriere added 11 points and matched a career-high with 10 boards for her first-career double-double on her senior night.  
• Katelyn Carriere and Anna Hall each contributed 10 points, six rebounds and an assist, with Hall grabbing a pair of steals and Carriere one.
• Nieman posted nine points, five rebounds and a steal. 
• Green and Whelan each posted six points and a steal, with Whelan adding four boards.
• Settingsgaard posted a career high four steals in the victory, adding four points, four rebounds and two assists as well.
• Saginaw Valley shot 38.3% (23-of-60) from the floor compared to Hillsdale's 32.8% (20-of-61). 
• SV was a stellar 27-of-29 from the charity stripe while the Chargers were 7-of-12 from the foul line,
• Hillsdale hit on 8-of-26 tries from beyond the arc while SVSU failed to hit a three-point attempt Thursday night, going 0-for-12.
• The Cardinals posted 40 points in the paint while holding the Chargers to just 18. The Lady Cardinals out-rebounded Hillsdale as well, grabbing 43 boards compared to the Chargers' 37.

Meijer "Player of the Game"

Wendling earned Meijer "Player of the Game" honors for her game-high 17 points, seven rebounds, one block and one assist. 

From Head Coach Jamie Pewinski...

Up Next for Saginaw Valley

Saginaw Valley clinched the No. 2 overall seed in the 2016 GLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament and will be matched up against rival and No. 7 seeded Northwood University in a quarterfinal round matchup Tuesday (Mar. 1) at 6:00 p.m. The Lady Cardinals swept the season series over the Timberwolves, who are coming off a 49-45 road victory at Lake Superior State University. Tuesday's home league tournament contest will mark the first one ever hosted by the SVSU women's basketball program, which will be looking for its first victory in the annual postseason tournament since the 1996-97 campaign.

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