UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich.- The Saginaw Valley State women's basketball team fell in their season opener against 15th-ranked Daemen, 61-53. Despite the loss, the Cardinals (0-1) outshot the Wildcats (1-0) from the floor, 42.2%-37.9%.
Daemen scored the first six points of the game. Laynie Meredith (Portland, Mich., Portland St. Patrick's HS) cut the lead in half for the Cardinals with a three; the first basket of the season for SVSU. The next bucket for Saginaw Valley State also came from beyond the arc as Kyndall Dotson (Flint, Mich., Carman-Ainsworth) connected on her first shot as a Cardinal. The Wildcats started to grow a lead, going up 17-7. However, SVSU went on a six-point run at the end of the first quarter to cut the lead to four. Meijer Player of the Game Kacie Bush (Columbia, Tenn., Morristown HS) scored all six points in that time.
After earning an assist at the end of the first quarter, Electra Lykaki (Kavala, Greece, 2nd High School of Kavala) made a jump shot in the paint to collect her first basket at SVSU to bring the Cardinals within four, 19-15. There was a 90-second scoring drought before Lykaki hit a three to make it 19-18. Lainey Yater (McDonald, Pa., South Fayette HS) scored on a fast break that gave the Cardinals a 20-19 lead. A three from the Wildcats gave them the lead again. Makayla Schlorf (Tecumseh, Mich., Tecumseh HS) was fouled two positions later. She made both free throws to tie the game at 22-22. Daemen went on a 7-2 run to take a five-point lead, but a three from Lykaki before the end of the half sent the game to the break with the Wildcats ahead, 29-27.
Daemen built a bit of space in the third quarter. They started with an eight point run, which was stifled by two free throws from Isabella Sapia. SVSU started to close in again after Bush poked the ball away from the Wildcats straight to Meredith who took it coast-to-coast for a layup, making the score 39-33 in favor of Daemen. The Wildcats built their lead up to 12 before Yater made the final basket of the quarter, sending the game to the fourth with Daemen in front, 50-40.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats started to pull away, eventually taking their largest lead of the game with 6:26 to go, 57-43. The Cardinals did not go away, scoring five straight points. The run started with a layup from Bush before she added a free throw. She ended the run with another bucket. Meredith recorded the final point of the night for SVSU on a free throw. With the Cardinals forced to foul with less than 30 seconds to go, the Wildcats finished things out on the charity stripe, getting the win, 61-53.
"It was exciting," SVSU head coach Jenny Pruett said. "To have pretty much a brand new team come out and be a little jittery, but then get settled back in and play a team that is highly ranked and highly regarded in the Division II polls and lose by eight… I see some really positive things and I'm really excited for what's ahead."
Bush led the team with 13 points, followed closely by Lykaki with 10. Yater led the Cardinals with nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Sapia recorded the only two blocks of the night for SVSU. Lykaki, Sapia, Dotson, Schlorf, Kaitlyn Johnson (Haslett, Mich., Haslett HS), and Aislyn Ahrens all scored their first points as Cardinals.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley State will play their first road games of the season over the weekend. On Friday, they will face the rival Northwood Timberwolves at 6:30 PM before making the trip to Findlay on Sunday for a 1:00 PM match-up.
