HAMMOND, Ind. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program finished their road trip at Purdue Northwest Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (record) defeated the Pride (record) with a final score of 71-47.
SVSU was led by Aleshia Jones with 19 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. Saniaa Walker, Lydia Meredith, and Megan McCalla all had double-digit points with 13, 12, and 12 respectively. As a team, the Cardinals shot 27-60 (45.0%) from the floor and held the Pride to 17-57 (29.8%) shooting. They also outrebounded PNW 41-34. Turnovers were a big factor for both teams as they had 19 turnovers each, but the Cardinals totaled 12 steals to the Pride's nine.
A slow start for both teams as PNW took the early lead with a 9-2 run halfway through the first quarter. SVSU broke out of the offensive struggle with a 7-0 run as Walker and Jones made layups with Meredith draining a three. The Cardinals took their first lead in the second as McCalla, Walker, and Meredith all made shots to go ahead 18-14. A Jones three late in the half put Saginaw Valley ahead by four and they took the two-point lead into the break after a Purdue Northwest jumper.
The second half was a completely different story for SVSU. The lead bloomed to 21 with the Cardinals outscoring the Pride 28-9 in the third. A 13-2 run in the first five minutes was exactly what Saginaw Valley was looking for with Jones tallying six of the points. Another 13-2 run followed and pushed the lead to 51-30 with McCalla putting up six of the points this time. SVSU won the fourth quarter 18-15 as they took three of the four frames from PNW as Lainey Yater scored a career-high seven points, all of them in the final 10 minutes of play, leading the Cardinals to a 24-point victory.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's basketball returns home for three straight starting with Northern Michigan on Thursday, February 6. That contest tips off at 5:30 PM EST from James E. O'Neill Arena. The last time these two teams met, the Cardinals claimed a 67-51 victory in Marquette, Michigan against a Wildcats team that was receiving votes for the national rankings.