MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program wrapped up their Upper Peninsula trip at Northern Michigan Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (9-7, 3-5 GLIAC) defeated the Wildcats (11-5, 5-3 GLIAC) with a final score of 67-51. SVSU handed NMU their second loss at home and their second in a row after losing to Wayne State on Thursday. The Wildcats just fell out of the national rankings on Tuesday but were still receiving votes.
Saginaw valley was led by Megan McCalla with 25 points. She improved her average to 17.4 points per game and is 0.2 points per game behind the leader in the GLIAC. However, McCalla leads the GLIAC in scoring with 18.5 points per game in conference play. Aleshia Jones followed with 15 points and four rebounds. Saniaa Walker posted a career high 11 points while hauling in seven rebounds and added three assists and two steals. Lydia Meredith led in assists with six, adding six rebounds and three steals. Ava Locklear led in boards with 10, the second time she's hit that mark this season. Locklear had three steals and a block as well.
Both teams traded points in the first before Northern Michigan jumped out to the first big lead. A 10-0 run put the Wildcats ahead 15-6 before a Walker three ended the quarter. The Cardinals had a massive response in the second, outscoring the Wildcats 29-16. SVSU's first three buckets were all threes cutting as McCalla's three put Saginaw valley ahead 18-17. A 10-2 run pushed SVSU ahead 30-24 and a Meredith jumper and Jones three gave Saginaw Valley a 38-31 lead at the half.
After the high scoring quarter, a defensive quarter followed in the third. SVSU held NMU to four points over 10 minutes of play. Another bucket from Meredith and a three from Walker made it a 10-0 run going back to before halftime as SVSU took a 12-point lead. McCalla followed with a pair of free throws and a three as Walked capped off the quarter with a free throw to extend the lead to 49-35. The final frame was tightly contested but the Cardinals came out on top 18-16, extending their lead to 19 with under a minute to play.
The three ball became the difference as SVSU shot 11-25 (44.0%) from the three and NMU shot 5-22 (22.7%) from beyond the arc. Northern Michigan won the rebound game by one, 35-34, while SVSU led in assists 14-11 and steals 9-5 while committing two less turnovers.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's basketball heads to Detroit, Michigan on Thursday, January 23 before hosting Roosevelt two days later. Tip-off from the Wayne State Fieldhouse is set for 5:30 PM EST.