UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball program fell 62-50 to the number one ranked Ashland Eagles Friday night. SVSU got scoring from nine different players as they outscored AU in the second half but couldn't come all the way back.
Aleshia Jones led the team with 13 points. Megan McCalla was also in double digits scoring 10 points in her nine minutes of play. Tyler Scheid led the team with five rebounds of the team's 25 and had four offensive rebounds as the Cardinals led the game in offensive boards 7-4.
The defensive game started with a couple steals before Ashland hit the first bucket two minutes into the game. A 6-0 run for SVSU after an AU three gave the Cardinals a 6-5 lead with buckets from Victoria Stafford, McCalla and Saniaa Walker. Both teams traded 4-0 runs as Ashland took a three-point lead and then Saginaw Valley got another layup from Walker and a jumper from Jones to make it 10-9 late in the first quarter. The Eagles closed with a three pointer and converted on an and-one play for a 6-0 run and the 15-10 lead.
Scheid hit the first bucket for SVSU in the second quarter after a 7-0 run for Ashland to cut the lead to 10. The Eagles stretched their lead with a 7-0 run and maintained it as they traded buckets with the Cardinals throughout the rest of the first half. Ashland headed into the locker room with a 17-point lead up 37-20.
A 6-1 run for Ashland out of the halftime break pushed their lead to 22 before Saginaw Valley started to claw their way back. A three-pointer for Makayla Mau and a Lydia Meredith jumper started the push for the Cardinals before Jones made a layup and Mau hit a jumper to cut the lead to 15 heading into the final ten minutes.
Jones hit two buckets quickly in the fourth quarter before a Schied jumper made it 52-38 Ashland. Late in the game, the Eagles had pushed their lead back to 18. That's when Saginaw Valley had their best run of the game scoring eight straight with a jumper by Lauren Sollom and then three buckets for McCalla in the paint forcing a timeout by Ashland. The Eagles took advantage of being in the bonus and hit four free throws down the stretch along with a layup by Jones which pushed the score to the final of 62-50.
Saginaw Valley women's basketball prepares over the weekend for back-to-back games starting Monday. They host Pitt-Johnstown on November 20 at 4:00 PM before hosting Cedarville on Tuesday, November 21 with the opening tip scheduled for 6:00 PM. Both games are at O'Neill Arena on the campus of SVSU.