February 19, 2004
Women's Basketball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CARDINALS KEEP PACE FOR A GLIAC TOURNEY BERTH WITH A 63-58 WIN AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN

MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Lady Cardinals swept the season series from Northern Michigan for the first time since the 1997-98 season on Thursday night with a 63-58 win. The Cardinals also keep pace for a GLIAC Tournament berth at 8-8 in the conference, tied for fifth place with Grand Valley State and just one half game behind Michigan Tech in the loss column. The Cardinals will travel to MTU on Saturday for a key 1:00 pm tip.
    The Cardinals were led by a balanced scoring attack as four players were in double figures. Senior Jennifer Brogger (Harbor Springs, Mich.) came off the bench to score 12 points in 16 minutes. Her triple with 41 seconds remaining gave SVSU a lead that would stand up. The game was deadlocked late in the second half at 58-58 before Brogger's three-pointer. After a Wildcat miss, sophomore Valerie Smith (Owosso, Mich.) missed on a bonus situation at the free throw line giving NMU another chance to tie the score. Northern Michigan had two chances to tie, but Smith secured a defensive rebound on the second miss and freshman Kamaria Douglas (Lansing, Mich./Everett) connected on two free tosses to secure the win with two seconds left. Smith ended with eight points and a game-high 13 boards. The Cardinals held a 10-point at 45-35 with 13:57 to go before NMU closed the gap.
    The backcourt tandem of Lisa Collison (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage) and Jessica Wilson (Martin, Tenn./Westview) each scored 10 points with Collison and Wilson shooting a combined 5-of-7 from the arc. Emily Samuelson led NMU with 18 points, seven steals and six assists. SVSU held NMU's Tiffany Grubaugh to 5-of-19 shooting and 14 points.

Contact: Ryan Thompson (989) 964-4053

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