The Basics 

Score: Grand Valley State 63, Saginaw Valley 57
Records: GVSU (13-4, 8-3 GLIAC) | SVSU (13-4, 9-2 GLIAC) 
Location: GVSU Fieldhouse Arena - Allendale, Mich. 

ALLENDALE, Mich. - The SVSU women's basketball team traveled to face the Grand Valley State University Lakers on Saturday (Jan. 21) afternoon in league action. The Cardinals would end up falling to the Lakers by a final count of 63-57 in a game that was nationally broadcasted on the American Sports Network at the GV Fieldhouse Arena.

The Lakers began the contest with a 7-0 run to take an early edge with 6:40 showing on the clock in the first quarter. SVSU would respond from there, notching 11 of the next 13 points to take an 11-9 lead with 4:00 showing on the clock after a Halee Nieman three-pointer. Hannah Settingsgaard and Katelyn Carriere also made triples, along with another Nieman bucket for the run. That two-point lead would prove to be the largest for SVSU, as the Lakers struck for the final six points of the first quarter in holding a 15-11 lead heading into the second frame. 

GVSU led by just two points after buckets from Abby Duffy (15-13) and Carriere (17-15) trimmed the home team's advantage, with the second coming at the 8:50 marker of the second quarter. The Lakers then held a 20-15 edge before an Emily Wendling jumper made the score 20-17 in GV's favor with 5:52 showing on the clock. The Cardinal deficit reached eight points a pair of times before the visitors pulled to within four (27-23) after made baskets from Carriere and Grace Whelan. A Grand Valley triple and SVSU layup from Duffy would finish the scoring for the opening half, with the Lakers leading by a 30-25 margin.

The third quarter saw each team post 14 points, carrying a 44-39 score into the fourth with the Lakers out in front. Wendling opened the scoring for the frame with a made jumper to trim the margin to 30-27, but the home squad pushed it out to nine points with the score 36-27 and 6:42 showing on the clock. Five straight points from Wendling would cut the deficit to 36-32 but the home team would carry the five-point lead into the fourth despite SV getting to within three points (42-39) after a Nieman triple with 1:19 to go in the quarter.

Grand Valley opened the fourth frame with eight straight points, holding its largest lead of the game of 13 points at 52-39 with 7:30 to go. Back-to-back three-pointers from Carriere would trim the deficit to just four points at 61-57 with 15 seconds to play in the contest. Saginaw Valley would have to foul from there, and GV was able to drain both of their foul shot tries with 11 seconds left to put the score at 63-57. That score would prove to be the final, as SV missed a late layup with six seconds remaining and the Lakers were able to secure the defensive rebound. 

Inside the Boxscore 

• Carriere led the way for SVSU, notching a game-high 18 points with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" for her efforts.
• Wendling added 15 points with four boards, an assist and steal for the Cardinals. 
• Duffy grabbed a game-best nine rebounds. She added six points, three helpers and a steal.
• Nieman netted eight points, five boards, two assists and a steal.
• Settingsgaard registered six points as well, with three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
• The Cardinals hit their only free throw attempt of the game, while GV was 12-of-17 from the charity stripe. SV ranks second in the league with 21.2 free throw attempts per game and 16.9 free throws made per contest.
• SV shot 42.9% (24-56) from the floor while GV was 43.1% (22-51) shooting.
• The Lakers out-rebounded the Cards by a 35-29 margin.
• Saginaw Valley posted a 24-18 edge in points in the paint.
• The teams had 12 combined bench points in the contest, with both teams relying heavily on their starting five players for the contributions. 

From Head Coach Jamie Pewinski

"We had really good effort today and ultimately didn't make enough plays to get the win against a really good Grand Valley team. We look forward to getting back in the gym tomorrow and making some adjustments. Overall, we are excited to put the lessons learned in this game into play over the next 10 games."

Up Next... 

Saginaw Valley returns to James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena on Thursday (Jan. 26), as the ladies host Lake Superior State University in a 6:00 p.m. matchup. The Cardinals remain a game ahead of Grand Valley and Michigan Tech in the GLIAC North Division standings. 

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