UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team hosted Michigan Tech for the first of two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games Friday at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.

The Huskies outscored the Cardinals 21-11 in the third to build a 14-point lead. Victoria Stafford banked home a 3-pointer with 1:23 to play and Maddie Maloney stole the inbound pass, hit a layup and SVSU was within seven. 

The Michigan Tech defense tightened and the Huskies escaped with a 63-52 win. The Cardinals fall to 4-6 overall and 4-6 in the GLIAC with the loss. 

Maloney led the Cardinals with 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting, adding five assists. 

Stafford came off the bench to score 11 points, to go along with six rebounds. 

"It is important for us to get Vicotria going," SVSU Head Coach Jenny Pruett said. "With her, it's all about staying out of foul trouble. It is difficult for a freshman to come in and know what is a foul and what isn't in the college game. I was very proud of her tonight for being able to stay on the floor and show what we see every day in practice."

SVSU shot 17-of-47 from the field, 6-of-20 from deep, and 12-of-17 from the line, finishing with nine assists, eight steals, 17 turnovers, and outrebounding Michigan Tech 30-28. 

Sara Dax led the Huskies (9-1, 9-1 GLIAC) with 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. 

The series concludes with game two at 3 pm Saturday at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.