Cardinal Women Earn Sweet Victory Over Grand Valley

ALLENDALE, Mich. - It’s been a sour season for the Saginaw Valley State women’s basketball team, but tonight (Feb. 21) they have sampled the sweet taste of victory against Grand Valley State University, 71-65.

In the first half, the Cardinals trailed by as many as seven at one point, but a three-point bucket by junior forward Jenna Saarela (Saugatuck, Mich.) brought SVSU within three points with 7:15 left in the half, 24-21. On the next trip down the floor, the Lakers would extend their lead to five. SVSU would draw within four as sophomore guard Kelley Wesp (Cincinnati, Ohio) sank one-of-two free throws. After a steal by senior point guard Tricia Everett (Saginaw, Mich.) and a dish to sophomore forward Brittany Burkhardt (West Bloomfield, Mich.) for a lay up, the Cardinals only trailed by two.

After another steal by Everett and lay up by Burkhardt, SVSU knotted to score, 26-26 with 5:13 left in the half. The Cardinals would take the momentum into half time with a five point advantage, 40-35.

SVSU shot 60.7 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes of play.

In the second half, it was all Cardinals, as Saginaw Valley only lost the lead once, when Grand Valley went up by a single point at the 15:45 mark, before SVSU opened the offensive gates to go up by as many as 10 in the second half, before finishing the game with a six-point advantage as the time ran out, 71-65.

The Cardinals were led by Burkhardt, who drained 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Everett knocked down 18 points and dished 10 assists for a double-double. Saarela rounded out the top scores for Saginaw Valley State with 10 points. As a team, the Cardinals shot 56.9 percent from the field, while Grand Valley was held to just 39 percent shooting on the game.

The win improves the Cardinals’ record to 3-22 overall and 2-18 in the GLIAC, while GVSU falls to 18-7 overall and 14-6 in the GLIAC. SVSU will return to action at 6 p.m. Thursday to return home to round out the season against Northern Michigan University on Thursday (Feb. 26) and then in the season finale at 6 p.m. Feb. 28 against Michigan Tech.