March 2, 2004
Women’s Basketball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CARDINALS BOW OUT OF GLIAC
TOURNEY WITH A 77-64 LOSS AT LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals
tasted their first GLIAC Tournament action after a four-year hiatus
and the Lakers free-throw precision and strong second-half shooting
led the way for an 77-64 win on their home floor in the quarterfinal
round of the GLIAC Tournament.
The Cardinals held tight in the first
five minutes trailing 11-9 at the first media timeout. Four different
Cardinals scored including a Valerie Smith (Owosso,
Mich.) triple that pulled SVSU within two points. Lake Superior
State increased their lead to 19-13 with 12:26 to go in the half
on a Mandi Johnson three-point play. The Cardinals found themselves
in a three-minute scoring drought that pushed the LSSU lead to
23-15 with 7:56 remaining in the half. SVSU also put a good LSSU
free-throw shooting team into the bonus with 9:44 to go in the
opening stanza.
The Lakers helped themselves at the charity
stripe and the Cardinals could not get over the hump after making
it 27-21 on a Jennifer Hagstrom (Cadillac,
Mich.) jumper with 4:44 to play in the first half. The turnover
bug continued to hurt SVSU in the third meeting between the teams
this season. SVSU committed 13 turnovers in the first half and
the Lakers were 9-of-9 from the line. Senior Jennifer
Brogger (Harbor Springs, Mich.) hit on four
straight free throws to cut the lead to 33-27 at the 2:20 mark.
The Lakers would take their largest lead of the first half at
39-28 on a Randi Johnson runner in the lane at the 1:12 mark.
LSSU struggled to 34.2 percent shooting (13-of-38), while SVSU
shot 31.0 percent (9-of-29) in the first 20 minutes. Randi Johnson
led Lake State with 12 first-half points. Brogger led the Cardinals
with 14 points in the half and was 6-of-6 at the foul line. Hagstrom
scored six points and blocked two shots in the first period. LSSU
outrebounded SVSU, 26-18, including 10 offensive boards in the
half.
The second half began with the Lakers
scoring the first four points and then the Cards went on a 9-0
run to make it 43-37 at the 15:38 mark. LSSU returned the favor
with a 9-0 run of their own to make it 52-37 at 13:05. Hagstrom’s
three-point play on the next possession snapped the run at 12:56.
Freshman Lisa Collison (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage)
scored consecutive baskets for SVSU with her triple making it
59-49 at the 9:10 mark. Smith and Hagstrom both were hampered
by foul trouble with Smith picking up her fourth foul at 8:11.
The frontcourt of Allyson Conaway and Becky Marquardt-King also
experienced some foul problems in the half. Conaway picked up
her fourth personal at the 6:16 mark. The foul shooting of LSSU
really kept them in the lead as they hit the double bonus at 7:22.
For the game, Lake Superior State shot 96.0 percent at the line
(24-of-25). The first miss of the game came at the 3:58 mark.
The Lakers seemed to keep the Cardinals
at arms length in the second half as LSSU led 65-56 at the 5:00
mark, which was the first time SVSU got the lead under double
digits in nine minutes of play in the second half. The SVSU frontcourt
lost Hagstrom at the 3:58 mark due to her fifth foul. Hagstrom
finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Smith likewise received
her fifth foul at the 2:57 mark. She concluded the night with
six points and seven rebounds.
Saginaw Valley State concludes the season
at 16-12 overall and were led in scoring by Brogger’s 17
points. Brogger also recorded a double-double with 11 boards to
go with five assists. The trio of Randi, Becca and Mandi Johnson
totaled 48 points for the Lakers. SVSU was 19-of-22 at the line
(.864) and shot 36.2 percent for the game. LSSU shot 47.8 percent
in the second half and 38.7 percent for the game.
Contact: Ryan Thompson (989) 964-4053
##SVSU##
