MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team closed its first road trip of the season with the second of two against Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Northern Michigan University Sunday in Marquette, Mich.

The Wildcats took control in the second quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 18-7. NMU held off a SVSU rally in the second half and earned the series split with a 61-45 win.

The loss drops SVSU to 1-3 overall and 1-3 in the GLIAC.

The Cardinals were led by Victoria Stafford, who came off the bench to score 13 points and pull down six rebounds. Kyndall Spires nearly recorded a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds.

SVSU shot 14-of-56 (25 percent) from the field, 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) from deep and 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from the line. The Cardinals finished with six assists, five steals and 16 turnovers.

The Wildcats were led by Makaylee Kuhn with a game-high 16 pts and 13 rebounds for a double-double. NMU won the rebounding battle 32-29. 

SVSU will look to rebound when the team travels to Ashland University for the start of a two-game weekend series at 4 pm Friday in Ashland, Ohio.