HILO, Hawai'i — Saginaw Valley State battled throughout all four quarters on Wednesday afternoon, but a big second half from Wingate proved to be the difference as the Cardinals fell 74–55 at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

Kaitlyn Geurink (Hamilton, Mich. / Hamilton HS) led SVSU with 24 points, hitting five threes and going 9-for-14 from the floor. Lydia Meredith (Portland, Mich. / Portland St. Patrick's HS) added 10 points and seven rebounds, while Lainey Yater (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette HS) finished with five points, four steals, and three assists. Megan McCalla (Chelsea, Mich. / Chelsea HS) chipped in eight points and seven boards, and the Cardinals collected 35 rebounds as a team.

SVSU came out with good energy early. Geurink knocked down a three on the opening possession, and Bella Paradowski (Melbourne, Australia / CRC Sydenham) finished at the rim to help the Cardinals jump out to a quick 5–2 start. From there, though, both teams got stuck in a stretch of cold shooting, and Wingate took advantage of extra possessions to grab a 16–9 lead after the first.

The Cardinals settled in during the second quarter. Meredith hit from deep, Geurink added a pull-up jumper, and SVSU started to find a little rhythm offensively. Even as Wingate pushed the lead to double digits, SVSU kept responding. Geurink's three with 5:42 left in the half brought it back to an eight-point game, and McCalla added a late fast-break finish to help SVSU cut it to 29–22 at the break.

Coming out of halftime, the Cardinals made another push. Yater buried a three early in the third, and McCalla finished a transition layup to keep the margin within single digits. But every time SVSU inched closer, Wingate found an answer. The Bulldogs used a stretch of three straight scoring trips — including a three-point play and back-to-back layups — to rebuild the lead. Despite another surge from Geurink, who connected from deep twice in the quarter, Wingate's 26-point frame pushed the deficit to 55–38 heading into the fourth.

SVSU continued to compete through the final 10 minutes. Meredith scored on a drive, Geurink added another layup, and Paradowski finished through contact to give the Cardinals a spark. But Wingate's ability to score inside and convert at the free-throw line kept the Bulldogs comfortably in front the rest of the way.

Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's basketball is off for the next eight days with the Thanksgiving break. They open up GLIAC play on Thursday, Dec. 4 at Davenport before heading to the defending national champions in Grand Valley on Saturday, Dec. 6. Tip-off for those games are set for 5:30 PM and 1:00 PM from the Davenport Student Center and the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.