Lady Cardinals Snap Skid

PHOENIX, AZ -- Saginaw Valley State University opened the millennium on the right foot by snapping a four-game losing streak with a 72-68 victory over Salem-Teikyo University (WV) Monday night.
     The Lady Cardinals cut down on turnovers, which had plagued them during their longest losing streak since 1990, to advance to the championship game of the Grand Canyon University New Year's Classic Tournament. SVSU coughed up only 23 turnovers, eight fewer than they averaged during the skid, and had a 53-40 rebounding edge.
     Senior Jill Herbig (Hamilton) scored a career-high 28 points to go with a collegiate-best 14 rebounds for SVSU. Sophomore Jenny White (Oxford) was the only other Cardinal to score in double figures, managing 19 points and six rebounds.
     "We did a nice job of executing down the stretch at critical moments," said second-year coach Lori Flaherty, whose squad improved to 4-6. "Jenny and Jill hit some clutch shots at the end."
     The game was tied six times in the first half, but the Cardinals scored the last nine points to lead 30-24 at halftime.
     SVSU led by as many as seven points in the second half, but Salem-Teikyo was able to tie the game at 63-63 with four minutes left.
     White nailed her fourth triple of the game to break the tie and Herbig hit baskets on consecutive possessions to break ties in the final 80 seconds. White canned two free throws with nine seconds left for the final score.
     Erica Cash had 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Lady Tigers. Twania Bennett had 13 assists, 10 points and nine rebounds, but hit only 3 of 17 shots from the floor.
     SVSU will play at 8 p.m. (MST) against the winner of Western New Mexico University and the tournament hosts.

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