Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly ModeWomen still in playoff hunt after win
February 13, 2006 —
With something still to play for, the SVSU women's basketball team certainly made Saturday's 68-62 win over Northwood interesting until the final seconds.
Up 64-56 with 2:35 to go in the second half, the Lady Cardinals allowed the Timberwolves to make a 6-0 run to come within two with 1:18 left in the game. SVSU had apparently watched too many leads slip away this year, though, and with a GLIAC postseason birth still on the line, held Northwood scoreless over the last minute for the win.
"We did our best not to win," said coach Vonnie Killmer. "I'm pleased that we won, but not pleased because we didn't play well."
Still, Killmer said, she was happy with the win.
"I can't complain," she continued. "Last year we would have lost that game by 15 or 20 points."
SVSU took a one-point lead, 13-12, with 13:36 left in the first half, and did not trail the rest of the way. The Lady Cardinals' biggest lead, though, was just nine, and that occurred with little under seven minutes left in the first.
The Timberwolves kept things close with SVSU despite committing 24 turnovers, 16 in the first half, because the Lady Cardinals committed 19 of their own, including 11 in the first half.
"I thought we played decent defensively, but our offense was the problem today," Killmer said.
The Lady Cardinals' defense shut down the Timberwolves' two top scorers, senior guard Maureen Elliott and junior guard - and former Cardinal - Sara Bilunes. Both came into the game averaging over 20 points over their last five games, but were held to five points apiece. Elliott shot just 2-of-6 (1-of-5 from three-point range) while Bilunes went 2-of-9, including 0-of-7 from behind the arc after making her first three of the game.
Senior forward Devon Hillstrom picked up the slack for her teammates, finding holes in SVSU's zone to score 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Freshman Megan Starnes added 11 points, nine in the second half, and six rebounds, while junior center Brittany Stedman grabbed 11 rebounds and added eight points.
Sophomore guard Jenna Schroeder led all scorers for SVSU with 24 points on 11-of-20 shooting and added five assists. Junior Mickey Grayer stayed out of foul trouble and scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 32 minutes, while junior Kara Kinzer made four of six three-point attempts and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Sophomore Kali Briggs added a game-high 13 rebounds to aid the Lady Cardinals' quest for the postseason.
"I was begging them at halftime, 'let's go,'" Killmer said. SVSU led Northwood by six at the half, but Killmer wanted more out of her team.
She added that the team is indeed motivated, "but (the postseason) is also something they don't know about."
The top three teams in each of the GLIAC's two divisions make the postseason tournament along with the teams with the two best conference records, regardless of division. Four teams from SVSU's North Division have already clinched spots, so the Lady Cardinals find themselves tied with Wayne State at 5-9 for the last tournament seed.
SVSU controls its own destiny, as Wayne State comes in for a Saturday showdown at 1 p.m. On Thursday night, SVSU hosts No. 25 Lake Superior State, a team the Lady Cardinals lost to, 78-73, on Feb. 4.
The Lady Cardinals travel to No. 14 Grand Valley after that and finish at Northwood on Feb. 25.
Killmer essentially figured in a loss against the Lakers in Allendale; Grand Valley defeated SVSU 82-47 back on Dec. 1, and Killmer has said the team is head and shoulders above the rest of the GLIAC.
Still, Killmer sounded excited when talking about her team's postseason chances.
"(The tournament) is during spring break week," she said, "so the talk has gone from where the girls are going that week to talk about the tournament. We're still in contention, which is a huge jump from a year ago."