UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program hosted Northern Michigan Thursday night. The Cardinals (11-10, 5-8 GLIAC) fell to the Wildcats (15-6, 9-4 GLIAC) with a final score of 69-59. The contest had eight lead changes and five ties with SVSU taking a lead into the fourth quarter but the biggest run for the NMU came in the last three minutes of the game to take the 10-point victory.
The Cardinals were led by the Meijer Player of the Game, Aleshia Jones, who put up 18 points. Megan McCalla was the other double-digit scorer with 11 points, and she added six rebounds as well to tie with Ava Locklear and Saniaa Walker for the team lead. Lydia Meredith tallied five steals to move into second in the GLIAC in total steals and tied for second in steals per game.
Saginaw Valley and Northern Michigan traded buckets as the Wildcats held a 7-6 lead at the first media timeout. NMU extended their lead before Maggie Keinsley hit a three and a buzzer beater by Jones brought SVSU within one at the end of the frame. An 8-2 Northern Michigan run in the second quarter pushed the tempo. Jones hit a three before Locklear ended the half with a three and a jumper to make it 32-28 Wildcats at the half.
The Cardinals took the lead in the third quarter with a 10-2 run when Walker and Meredith made layups followed by another three and a jumper by Jones, giving SVSU the 40-37 edge. The Wildcats battled back as McCalla and Locklear kept the game within one possession before Walker hit the final shot of the quarter to put Saginaw Valley up 48-47. A 6-2 run for NMU started the fourth before Jones tied it with her fourth three of the game at 53-53. That's when the Wildcats went on their largest run of the game with an 11-0 run to go ahead 64-53. Northern Michigan took their largest lead of 12 with 19 seconds left before McCalla hit a jumper to end the game.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's basketball is back at home on Saturday, February 8 when they host Michigan Tech. It's Alumni Day as the Cardinals welcome all women's basketball alumni. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM EST from James E. O'Neill Arena.
