UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – After five straight games on the road, the Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team hosted the first of two games in two days against the University of Wisconsin Parkside Friday at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.

The Rangers took control of the contest in the second half and escaped with a 65-55 win over the Cardinals. The loss drops SVSU to 3-5 overall and 3-5 in the Great Lakes Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The halftime lead for the Cardinals was trimmed to four points as Courtney Schoenbeck hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for Parkside. After falling behind in the third quarter, the Cardinals battled back to take a 47-46 lead with 7:10 to play. The Rangers used a 10-0 run late in the fourth to retake control.

Kaitlyn Zarycki scored seven of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, as the lone Cardinal in double-figures. She added seven rebounds in the loss.

Maddie Maloney and Tori DePerry each finished with eight points, while Tyler Scheid had a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Cardinals shot 18-of-61 from the field, 7-of-27 from deep and 12-of-15 at the line. SVSU finished with eight assists, six steals, 15 turnovers, and outrebounded Parkside 43-38.

The Rangers (4-4, 4-4 GLIAC) were led by 14 points from Alyssa Nelson.  

The two teams close the weekend series at 3 pm Saturday at the James E. O'Neill Arena.