GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program started their second to last week of the regular season at Davenport Thursday night. The Cardinals (13-12, 7-10 GLIAC) claimed the road victory with a 78-47 final score over the Panthers (6-19, 4-13 GLIAC).

SVSU was led by Megan McCalla who continues to lead the GLIAC in scoring. She put up 20 points with half of them coming from the free throw line. Aleshia Jones followed with 18 points shooting 6-10 from the floor and 4-6 from the three. Ava Locklear was all over the court as she totaled 17 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. She also had five blocks, two steals, and two assists. As a team, the Cardinals outshot the Panthers 48.0% to 30.2% and were nearly 40.0% from the three. SVSU totaled nine steals as Davenport turned the ball over 20 times.

Saginaw Valley took the first lead on a McCalla layup before a Davenport three made it 3-2. A Locklear layup took a 4-3 lead and the Cardinals wouldn't trail for the remainder of the game. The Locklear bucket started a 7-0 run to push SVSU ahead 8-3. The Cardinals took a 14-7 lead into the second where the Panthers cut the lead to four before another 7-0 run from SVSU. Beckham Hockley hit a pair of threes and Jones followed up with one of her own and SVSU went into the locker room with a 33-21 lead.

In the second half, SVSU continued to put up points as they scored 22 in the third and 23 in the fourth. A 9-3 run with McCalla scoring seven of the points made it 43-26. Hockley hit her third three and was followed up by free throws from McCalla as Saginaw Valley held a 22-point advantage heading into the fourth. The scoring piled on as Saniaa Walker scored a couple of layups and Maggie Keinsley knocked down four free throws and the Cardinals took their largest lead of the game, 78-45, with a minute remaining. A pair of free throws for the Panthers ended the game as SVSU won by 31.

Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's basketball continues the road trip and head to face No. 4 Grand Valley on Saturday. With three games remaining in the regular season, SVSU can clinch a GLIAC postseason berth with a win or a Davenport loss. SVSU hosts Lake Superior State and Ferris State next week to close out the regular season.