Women allow playoff hopes to slip away

February 20, 2006 —

by Brandon Kish

Sophomore Jenna Schroeder shoots from the top of the key in Saturday's game against Wayne State. The Lady Cardinals, who were tied with the Warriors for the last spot in the GLIAC tournament, lost the game 74-61. Schroeder scored 17 points.

by Brandon Kish

With a playoff berth at stake, the SVSU women's basketball team chose the wrong time to play its worst game of the year.

The Lady Cardinals were unable to recover from a 30-12 Wayne State run and lost to the Warriors 74-61 on Saturday.

"Considering the circumstances, this was our worst game of the year," said coach Vonnie Killmer. "Wayne State simply wanted it more than we did."

Both teams came into the contest 5-10 in the GLIAC and tied for the eighth and final spot for the conference tournament. With the loss, SVSU needs to defeat No. 13 Grand Valley in Allendale on Wednesday and rival Northwood on Saturday for the tournament to even remain a possibility.

The Lady Cardinals also need Wayne State to lose to Hillsdale and Findlay, currently 5-11 in the conference, to lose to Ashland on Friday.

But Killmer was realistic after Saturday's game. When asked if the team had just lost its chance for the playoffs, the coach replied, "Probably."

SVSU was able to jump out to a 5-0 lead in the first minute and a half of the game, but Wayne State went on its run after that. The Warriors shot 6-of-8 from three-point range during the run, which lasted over 13 minutes. The Lady Cardinals shot just 3-of-15 during the same span, and went without a point for nearly five minutes.

"We were just watching whoever had the ball on offense," Killmer said. It was like we were playing 1-on-5."

The Warriors' Kristen Rogers led the run, shooting 4-of-5 from the outside the arc. Wayne State shot 9-of-25 overall from three-point territory for the game, but 7-of-14 in the first half.

"We have been able to defend shooters all year," said Killmer, who pointed to her team's tough defense against Northwood's perimeter shooters last week. "Today we just stood around."

Down by 13 with 10 minutes to play in the half, SVSU made a run of its own, cutting the Wayne State lead to six with 6 minutes to play. The Lady Cardinals shot 2-of-9 for the rest of the half, though, allowing Wayne State to take an 11-point lead by halftime.

The Warriors shot just 41 percent in the first half, but held a 27-17 rebounding advantage that included 10 offensive rebounds.

Killmer said her team did not need to make any major adjustments at the half, and told them so.

"We just needed to play better," she said. "We just had to make some minor adjustments. We needed to pick up our intensity."

SVSU cut the Wayne State lead to single digits just once in the second half, though, and turned the ball over nine times while shooting just under 43 percent (15-of-35) in the half.

Killmer refused to use the team's youth - SVSU has no seniors and just three juniors - as a crutch.

"You can be young and still want to win," she said. "We're not that young anymore, anyway. These girls have played an entire season together. We don't have any excuses."

Junior center Mickey Grayer led SVSU with 17 points and 12 rebounds, but had six turnovers. Sophomore Jenna Schroeder added 17 points, as well, along with five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Sophomore Kali Briggs scored 14 and grabbed seven rebounds.

Rogers led the Warriors' cause, scoring 21 points on 8-of-21 shooting, including 5-of-12 from behind the arc. The senior also dished out six assists, grabbed five rebounds, and had four steals. Freshman Chastidy Miller added a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 boards.

The Lady Cardinals tip off against Grand Valley at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The Lakers, who beat SVSU 82-47 early this season, are 15-1 in the GLIAC and 22-3 overall and have secured the top seed in the North Division.

SVSU tips off against Northwood on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Midland.