UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team hosted the first of three home games this week to close the regular season, taking on Michigan Tech in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest Tuesday at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.

The Cardinals started fast and maintained the lead throughout the contest, earning a season series split and a 79-70 win. The victory moves SVSU to 15-9 overall and 10-7 in the GLIAC.

How it Happened:

• The Cardinals scored the first eight points of the contest including four points from Maddie Barrie.
• SVSU extended its lead to 15-4 with 5:30 to play in the first on a 3-pointer from Barrie.
• Ellie Mackay kept the Huskies in the game and cut the SVSU lead to 26-19 with a layup midway through the second.
• Tyler Scheid hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to close the half and send the Cardinals to the locker room up 38-27.
• Michigan Tech chipped away and used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to five points with 3:49 to play in the third.
• Barrie answered with a pair of jump shots to stretch the lead back out to nine and the Cardinals led 60-52 heading to the fourth.
• In the fourth, the Cardinals opened up a 10-point lead before the Huskies brought it to within six points with 8:24 remaining. 
• SVSU answered with a 3-pointer by Maddie Maloney and a jumper by Scheid to go up 11. 
• A layup by Tori DePerry built the Cardinal lead to 13 points. The Huskies did all they could to get back into it, even cutting the deficit to seven points with 3:09 left, before the Cardinals put the game away and earned the victory. 

Inside the Box Score:

• Four Cardinals scored in double-figures led by Tori DePerry. She finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. 
• Barrie posted 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, leaving her 10 points away from 1,000 for her career.
• Maddie Maloney recorded 16 points, including 2-of-4 from deep. The senior is eight points shy of 1,000 for her career, and she led all players with six assists.  
• The other Cardinal in double-figures was Kaitlyn Zarycki with 13 points. She grabbed a game-high nine rebounds as SVSU outrebounded Michigan Tech 32-25. 
• SVSU was 32-of-57 from the field, 4-of-11 from deep, and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. 
• The Huskies were led by Sara Dax and Alex Rondorf with 18 points each. 

Up next:

The Cardinals remain home to take on Davenport University at 6 pm Thursday at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena. 

Postgame Interview with Head Coach Jenny Pruett: