UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program dropped their game against No. 9 Grand Valley State University Saturday afternoon at O'Neill Arena. The Cardinals (7-16, 4-9 GLIAC) fell to the Lakers (20-2, 11-1 GLIAC) with a final score of 78-54.

SVSU was led offensively by the Meijer Player of the Game, Jessica Massey, with a career-high 18 points shooting 6-11 from the floor and 2-3 from behind the arc. Other double-digit scorers were Aleshia Jones with 11 and Victoria Stafford with 10. Stafford also came down with a team leading five rebounds including three on the offensive side. The Cardinals shot 44% making 22 of their 50 shots from the floor.

Grand Valley jumped to an early lead hitting two threes while Jones answered with the first Cardinal bucket. Down 6-2, Jones hit a three along with Stafford converting an and-one opportunity to give SVSU an 8-6 lead. Stafford and Emma Dziezgowski traded shots as GVSU tied the game 12-12 before going on a 9-0 run. The Cardinals and Lakers both hit a shot to end the quarter leaving GVSU ahead 23-14 going into the second quarter.

A quick 5-0 run for Grand Valley extended their lead to 14. A 6-0 run for SVSU cut into the lead as Massey hit two shots along with a jumper from Stafford. The Lakers answered with an 11-2 run pushing the lead to 17 late in the half. A small 3-0 run pushed the lead to 20 before the Cardinals and Lakers traded points. Massey hit two free throws and Saniaa Walker made a layup while GVSU hit two shots and two free throws. The teams headed to the locker room for halftime with Grand Valley ahead 49-27.

Jones hit the first shot of the second half but was followed up by a 10-2 run for the Lakers stretching their lead to 59-33. Another Jones made bucket stopped the run before the next five points went to GVSU. Massey hit a three and after a pair of Laker free throws, Massey ended the quarter with two of her own from the charity stripe as the teams headed to the final frame with Grand Valley leading 66-38.

SVSU started the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run with Massey scoring five of the six points. GVSU responded with a 6-0 run of their own to push their lead to 28 before Megan McCalla, Jones, Walker, and Makayla Mau all drained a shot for an 8-0 Cardinal run. The Lakers ended the game on a 6-2 run leaving them with a 24-point win.

The Cardinals leave O'Neill Arena for the final road trip of the regular season. First, they will travel to Ferris State on Thursday before heading to the upper peninsula to face off against Lake Superior State on Saturday. Tip-off from Big Rapids is scheduled for 5:30 PM Thursday, February 15.