MIDLAND, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program kicked off the 2024-25 season with their 94th meeting against rival Northwood. The Cardinals (1-0) won by 21 points with a final score of 70-49 against the Timberwolves (0-1).
Megan McCalla led all scorers with 18 points starting with 10 in the first six minutes. Lauren Sollom dropped 12 points and five rebounds from the bench along with three steals as the Cardinals had 18 as a team. Lydia Meredith had nine points and led defensively with eight rebounds and five steals. Saniaa Walker also posted nine points and had four steals as well.
As a team, SVSU shot 43.5% from the floor shooting 27 of 62. They led in rebounds by 13 with 44 to NU's 31 and had five more steals than Northwood's 13. The Cardinals led in every team category as they had 30 points off turnovers compared to 19 for the Timberwolves. They led in second chance points 16-10, points in the paint 36-24, fastbreak points 18-7, and bench points 20-14.
Northwood jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game. McCalla started hot as her and Sollom teamed up for a 15-0 run for SVSU. McCalla had back-to-back and one's that she converted on and another layup as Sollom had two buckets and a three for her first seven points to put the Cardinals ahead 17-6. SVSU would not trail for the rest of the game.
Saginaw Valley started the second quarter with a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 32-14. An 11-3 run for the Timberwolves cut into the advantage for the Cardinals before Ava Locklear and Aleshia Jones knocked down buckets to make it 39-25 at the half. Locklear ended with six points and seven rebounds in her first career game.
The third quarter started with a SVSU 8-0 run as Sollom and Emma Dziezgowski knocked down threes along with a Jones layup to give the Cardinals a 47-25 lead. Northwood battled back in the later portion of the quarter as the third was the only quarter that the Cardinals did not outscore the Timberwolves as both teams put up 13 points.
SVSU closed out with a positive fourth quarter outscoring NU 18-11. A 7-2 run started it as Jones and McCalla made layups and Walker drained a three. Locklear put down two free throws for her final points of the game and Maggie Keinsley had the final bucket for SVSU in the final minutes to put them up 70-47. NU made a layup on their final shot to cut the lead to 21 before the clock hit zero.
Head coach Jenny Pruett had this to say about the win,
"I love that we outrebounded them and I love that we had 18 steals. That is a gritty team and that's what I love most about tonight."
Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's basketball has a quick turnaround as they head to Findlay on Saturday, November 9. The Cardinals and Oilers tip off from Croy Physical Education Center in Findlay, Ohio at 5:00 PM EST.
