Feb. 20, 2010

Box Score

University Center, Mich. - Grand Valley State was unable to stay with Saginaw Valley State on Saturday night (Feb. 20) in University Center, Mich., falling to the Cardinals by a 71-51 score. GVSU returns to Allendale to close out the regular season with a pair of home games next week.

The loss drops Grand Valley State to 17-8 on the season with a 14-6 record in the GLIAC, while Saginaw Valley State improves to 7-18 overall and 5-15 in league play. Coupled with Northern Michigan's loss to Findlay earlier on Saturday afternoon, the Lakers remain tied for second place in the GLIAC North Division with the Wildcats. Grand Valley State closed its four-game road trip with a 1-3 record and the Lakers are now 8-5 on the road this season.

Saginaw Valley State raced out to an 11-4 lead before the Lakers scored six straight points on back-to-back buckets from freshman center Alex Stelfox and a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Kelly Kretz. A jumper from Kretz at the 9:59 mark gave GVSU its first lead of the game at 14-13. Moments later, the Cardinals regained the lead, but Stelfox would respond with a layup of her own to put Grand Valley State ahead, 16-15, with 8:42 remaining. It was the last time the Lakers would lead in the game.

Stelfox converted a three-point play with 7:39 left to make the score 20-19, but Saginaw Valley State would close the half on a 13-2 run, including four points in the final six seconds. The Cardinals shot 48.1 percent from the field in the first half, while GVSU connected on 32.1 percent of its attempts and was 0-of-9 from three-point range. SVSU owned a 15-2 edge in bench points, while 17 of the Lakers' 21 points were scored by Stelfox and Kretz.

Freshman Briauna Taylor scored on a layup to start the second half and make the score 33-23, but Saginaw Valley State would total the next 11 points, pushing the game out to a 44-23 Cardinal advantage. A three-point play from Stelfox at the 6:39 mark would cut the deficit to 15 points and is as close as the Lakers could get the rest of the second half.

SVSU shot 48.9 percent from the floor, but converted 21-of-25 free throw attempts for an 84.0 percent clip. The Lakers, however, struggled all day by making just 31.6 percent of its attempts and only 1-of-16 three-pointers for a 6.3 percent mark, both of which are season lows. Grand Valley State also turned the ball over 24 times, leading to a 23-11 points off turnovers edge for the Cardinals.

The Lakers did outrebound SVSU by a 37-34 count, which included 16 offensive rebounds. Those boards on the offensive end gave GVSU an 11-0 edge in second chance points. Stelfox and Kretz combined for 29 of the team's 51 points, as Stelfox led the Lakers in scoring for the third straight game and the seventh time in the last nine contests. She totaled a team-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Kretz totaled 13 points and five rebounds, making 5-of-12 shots in her second start of the year, as she started for the injured Emma Veach, who did not play for the first time this season. Taylor led GVSU with nine rebounds, while junior Elizabeth Van Tiflin added eight missed caroms.

Grand Valley State takes the court again on Thursday night (Feb. 25) against Wayne State in a 6:00 p.m. contest. The Lakers defeated WSU on Jan. 23 in Detroit, 69-61.