Women's Basketball Defeats Rival Saginaw Valley 69-63

OVERVIEW – SAGINAW VALLEY

SCORE:  Northwood Timberwolves 69, Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 63

RECORDS: Northwood (7-3, 4-1 GLIAC), Saginaw Valley (2-9, 2-3 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Northwood's defense steps up in the final minutes in a 69-63 Saturday night (December 16).

FIRST QUARTER

• The offenses got off to a sluggish start to open the contest, as Northwood led 5-4 at the first media timeout with 4:16 remaining in the opening quarter
• Both offenses picked up the play for the remainder of the quarter, after which Northwood led 16-10.
• The Timberwolves shot 42.9 percent in the quarter, compared to SVSU at 26.7 percent (4-15). Both teams went 2-2 from the foul line.

SECOND QUARTER

• Saginaw Valley's offense was much better in the second quarter, allowing the Cardinals to earn the lead.
• The Timberwolves led 20-14 with 7:47 remaining in the half, but SV was the better team the rest of the quarter.
• SVSU out-scored Northwood 16-9 the rest of the half to give the Cardinals a 30-29 lead at the break.
• The Cardinals responded to their cold opening quarter with an excellent shooting second, finishing at 66.7 percent (8-12). Northwood ended the second quarter at 45.5 percent.

THIRD QUARTER

• Northwood got off to a strong start in the third quarter, scoring 13 of the first 15 points after the break to open up a 42-35 lead with 6:21 remaining.
• Once again, SVSU responded well, holding Northwood to just five points the rest of the quarter. The Cardinals eventually led 48-47 after three.
• The shooting numbers in the third quarter were similar for both teams – SVSU went 7-18 (38.9 percent) while NU finished at 43.8 percent (7-16).

FOURTH QUARTER

• Northwood's defense down the stretch proved to be the difference in the contest.
• Saginaw Valley led 59-58 with less than four minutes remaining when Northwood took over. The Timberwolves out-scored the Cardinals 11-4 the rest of the way. During that time, SVSU was held without a basket on six straight possession with five Cardinal turnovers.
• While Northwood went just 5-16 from the floor in the quarter (31.3 percent), Northwood went 11-12 from the foul line (91.7 percent). SVSU ended up going 4-9 from the floor in the fourth (44.4 percent)

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .426 (23-54), Northwood .404 (23-57)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .500 (3-6), Northwood .286 (6-21)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .824 (14-17), Northwood .850 (17-20)
• REBOUNDS: Saginaw Valley 40 (12 offensive), Northwood 29 (eight offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Saginaw Valley 11/20, Northwood 13/9
• POINTS IN THE PAINT: Saginaw Valley 34, Northwood 30
• POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Saginaw Valley 8, Northwood 22

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Lindsay Orwat: 22 points
• Grace German: 11 points, eight rebounds
• Maddy Seeley: 11 points
• Taylor Craymer: Nine points, eight rebounds

GAME NOTES:

• Northwood has now won seven of eight after starting the year 0-2

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will return to action December 31 at Wisconsin-Parkside. Game time is set for 2 p.m.