UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program hosted Lake Superior State Friday night and needed a win to push for seventh in the GLIAC. The Cardinals (14-13, 8-11 GLIAC) defeated the Lakers (5-22, 2-17 GLIAC) by 19 with a final score of 75-56. SVSU can clinch the seventh seed on Saturday with a win over Ferris State and a Michigan Tech loss to Parkside.
The Cardinals had five scorers reach double figures with Megan McCalla leading with 16. Lydia Meredith followed with 14. Meijer Player of the Game Beckham Hockley had a career high 12 points shooting 4-9 from three. Aleshia Jones and Ava Locklear matched Hockley's 12 points as well. Locklear led in rebounds with 10 for her fifth double-double in her freshman season. Saginaw Valley shot 43.8% from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc and the team was nearly perfect from the free throw line knocking down 11 of 12 chances. SVSU dominated on the glass outrebounds LSSU 41-25 with 15 offensive boards.
Saginaw Valley led for the entire contest besides the lone tie in the second quarter at 18-18. McCalla started hot scoring the Cardinals first six points as they took a 6-1 lead. Locklear hit a jumper, and Jones drained a three to put SVSU ahead 15-8 before a layup for the Lakers ended the first. An 8-3 run for LSSU tied the game with 7:17 left in the second but Saginaw Valley surged ahead. Hockley hit a pair of threes and Meredith had one of her own to go ahead 27-20. The teams traded baskets with Jones hitting the final shot to take a 34-28 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was back and forth with both teams answering the other. Hockley hit another three and a pair of Meredith free throws put the Cardinals ahead by 10, 52-42. Saginaw Valley exploded in the fourth with a 16-3 run extending their lead to 70-51. After a Laker three, Lainey Yater scored two buckets and converted on an and-one to give SVSU a 21-point lead, their largest of the game. A layup for Lake Superior State with 25 seconds remaining ended the scoring.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley hosts Ferris State on Saturday, March 1 at 1:00 PM EST for Senior Day at James E. O'Neill Arena. The Cardinals can hop Michigan Tech with a win against the Bulldogs and if the Huskies fall to Parkside on the road. Both SVSU and MTU would tie with the Cardinals claiming the tiebreaker.
