UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program hosted Roosevelt Saturday afternoon at James E. O'Neill Arena. The Cardinals (5-15, 3-9 GLIAC) defeated the Lakers (5-14, 4-8 GLIAC) with a final score of 59-50. SVSU used a massive 21-5 second quarter to build their lead and although RU pushed in the second half, they couldn't overcome the 20-point deficit after the first 20 minutes.
Meijer Player of the Game, Kaitlyn Geurink (Hamilton, Mich. / Hamilton HS), led the team with 15 points, shooting 5-of-8 from three, adding five rebounds, three assists, and a block. She hit half of the Cardinals threes as the team shot 10-of-21 (47.6%). Lauren Borsenik (Hemlock, Mich. / Hemlock HS) was the other Cardinal with double-digit points as she scored 12, shooting 5-of-8 from the floor. She had seven rebounds and an assist as well. Lydia Meredith (Portland, Mich. / Portland St. Patrick's HS) had a career-high 13 rebounds to lead the team on the glass. Meredith tallied five assists, three steals, and three points as well.
The Cardinals started hot with a 10-2 run as Geurink and Lainey Yater (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette HS) both hit threes. A three from Emma Dziezgowski (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park HS) pushed the lead to eight as SVSU took the first quarter 17-13. Borsenik started the explosive second quarter with a three of her own. Elizabeth Stuart (Medina, Ohio / Medina HS) entered the game and made an immediate impact, knocking down two threes. Geurink followed up with two threes as well as Saginaw Valley started the quarter on a 17-0 run. Roosevelt got two buckets and a free throw while Borsenik and Meredith hit layups as well as SVSU took a 38-18 lead into the halftime break.
The second half was filled with whistles as the Cardinals got called for nine fouls in the third quarter, giving Roosevelt a chance to claw back with free throws. The Lakers were 16-of-19 from the charity stripe as they scored 20 points in the third and trimmed seven points off the lead. Geurink started the quarter with a three but the Cardinals never strung multiple baskets together during the 10 minutes. Another three for Geurink in the fourth kept the Lakers at a distance as Meredith, Borsenik, and Megan McCalla (Chelsea, Mich. / Chelsea HS) scored some crucial layups and free throws. RU outscored SVSU 12-8 in the final frame as Roosevelt brought the game to within single digits but could not complete the comeback.
The Cardinals outrebounded the Lakers 43-32 and their depth ended up being the difference as they had 15 bench points to Roosevelt's 5.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley women's basketball goes on their penultimate road trip of the 2025-26 season. They head to the Upper Peninsula next week to play Northern Michigan on Thursday, February 5 at 5:30 PM. Then, the Cardinals head to Michigan Tech on Saturday for a 1:00 PM game. SVSU goes back to the Upper Peninsula the following week to play Lake Superior State on Thursday, February 12 before hosting Ferris State the following Saturday
