JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program continued their non-conference season heading to Pitt.-Johnstown Monday afternoon. The Cardinals (3-1) defeated the Mountain Cats (1-4) by 10 with a final score of 65-55.
Aleshia Jones led all scorers with 18 points shooting 8-16 from the floor. Ava Locklear followed putting up a career-high 13 points for her first double-digit scoring of the season. The freshman center also had seven rebounds, tying Laursen Sollom for the game high. Lydia Meredith had 11 points as the final double-digit scorer and had six assists and three steals. Saniaa Walker led in steals with five of Saginaw Valley's 15.
SVSU outscored Pitt.-Johnstown in three of the four quarters, starting the game with a massive 9-0 run as Jones made two layups and Meredith made one and a three. The Mountain Cats cut into the lead, but the Cardinals kept it at a five-point edge with Jones knocking down a three at the end of the quarter.
Pitt-Johnstown used free throws in the second quarter to take a lead before Sollom and Walker made threes while Walker added a free throw, and Locklear ended the first half with a jumper to give SVSU a three-point advantage at the break.
Saginaw Valley wouldn't trail the remainder of the game extending the lead with a big 15-9 third quarter. An 8-0 run pushed things out of reach when Pitt.-Johnstown came within a point as Locklear made another two buckets.
Another Locklear layup in the fourth gave SVSU a double-digit lead up 50-39. The Mountain Cats cut the lead to four points before a 13-3 run for Saginaw Valley put them in the driver seat. The Cardinals were up by 14 before the final two buckets for Pitt.-Johnstown cut the lead to 10 as the last few seconds ticked off the clock.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's basketball heads home to face Ursuline. The Cardinals and the Arrows square off at O'Neill Arena on Sunday, November 24 at 1:00 PM EST.
