The Basics

Score: No. 3 Grand Valley 71, No. 2 Saginaw Valley 58 - GLIAC Tournament Semifinals
Records: GVSU (23-6) | SVSU (22-7)
Location: Kates Gymnasium - Ashland, Ohio

ASHLAND, Ohio - The SVSU women's basketball team squared-off against the Grand Valley State Lakers on Saturday (Mar. 4) afternoon in the 2017 GLIAC Women's Basketball Semifinals. After a slim 25-24 halftime lead for GV, the Lakers posted a 27-19 edge in the third and 19-15 in the fourth to claim the victory, 71-58.

The Cardinals opened play with a 5-0 lead after Halee Nieman hit a three-pointer and Emily Wendling added a made bucket. The Lakers worked their way back and would lead by as many as four points with the score 12-8 at the 1:49 marker of the quarter. Four straight free throws, two from Nieman and another pair from Abby Duffy, knotted the score at 12-12 with eight seconds remaining. GVSU responded with a jumper to grab a 14-12 lead after the opening 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, a string of three consecutive triples from Francesca Coury gave the Cardinals a four-point advantage (21-17) with 6:10 showing on the clock. After the contest was tied at 21-21 with 3:51 on the clock, a Wendling layup with 1:48 remaining in the half gave SV a 24-23 lead. The Lakers had a bucket 19 seconds later, taking the lead back at 25-24. That's where the score stood headed into the halftime break.

A three-point play to open the third quarter by Nieman gave the Cardinals their final lead of the game at 27-25. Grand Valley grabbed the lead from there and pushed it out to as many as 14 points twice in the frame. The Lakers finished with a 27-19 advantage in the third, taking a nine-point lead into the final quarter, 52-43.

Saginaw Valley cut the deficit to nine points twice in the fourth quarter, the first when Hannah Settingsgaard drained a couple foul shots with 9:01 showing to make the score 54-45 and the second when Katelyn Carriere hit a jumper with 4:54 left and the score 56-47. That was as close as SV would get, as Grand Valley closed-out the contest and claimed the 13-point victory, 71-58.`

Inside the Boxscore

• Carriere posted a team-high 16 points, adding six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. 
• Wendling notched 14 points and six boards with a steal.
• Coury had a career-high 12 points in the contest, connecting on 4-of-8 shots and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. She was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" for her efforts.
• Nieman had eight points, a team-best seven boards, adding three assists, three steals and a block.
• The Lakers posted a 46-33 edge on the glass and 30-14 advantage in the paint. 
• The game featured six ties and nine lead changes.

Up Next...

Saginaw Valley, which has been ranked No. 3 in the last three NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Rankings, will await their NCAA postseason fate. The annual selection show is set to take place on Sunday night at 10:00 p.m. You can watch the show live on ncaa.com at the link below.

2017 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show

@SVSUWBB | #svsuwbb | @SVSUAthletics | #GoSVSU