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Printer-Friendly ModeWomen split season with Northwood
February 27, 2006 —
The SVSU women's basketball team finished its season on a four-game losing streak on Saturday, losing 69-64 at Northwood.
Junior Jenna Schroeder paced the Lady Cardinals with 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting and sophomore Kali Briggs scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the loss, which was SVSU's sixth in its last seven games.
The Lady Cardinals could not contain Timberwolves junior Sara Bilunes as she poured in 27 points, 17 in the first half. Bilunes, who played at SVSU for two years before transferring, shot 9-of-19 from the field, including 7-of-15 from three-point range. Senior Maureen Elliott, who came into the game averaging a team-high 16.8 points per game, shot just 4-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-11 from the arc, and finished with 15 points.
Freshman Tricia Everett contributed 10 points and a career-high 10 assists, and sophomore Kara Kinzer added 11 points. Junior Mickey Grayer found herself in foul trouble again, picking up two in the first nine minutes of the game. The 6'2" center finished with four points on 2-of-10 shooting in just 18 minutes.
SVSU held Northwood to 29.9 percent shooting from the field while shooting 38.1 percent themselves, but the difference came at the three-point and free-throw lines. The Timberwolves finished 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from behind the arc and 19-of-22 (86.4 percent) from the charity stripe. SVSU, meanwhile, shot just 2-of-10 from three-point range and 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from the line.
Northwood was held to 28.6 percent shooting in the first half, but made six three pointers and shot 15-of-18 from the free-throw line to hold a 37-33 halftime lead. SVSU was in the bonus with eight and a half minutes left in the half, after which the Timberwolves shot 8-of-10 from the line. Bilunes made 4-of-6 three pointers to end the half, allowing Northwood to change SVSU's five-point lead at the time of its seventh foul into the four-point halftime lead.
Northwood built up a seven-point lead less than five minutes into the second half, but the Lady Cardinals were able to keep the game close and took several two-point leads in the last five minutes. SVSU, however, shot just 2-of-8 during that same span and had two turnovers while Northwood shot 4-of-7.
SVSU had three players - Briggs, Everett, and Schroeder - play 40 minutes, and Kinzer played 36 minutes. Junior Valerie Smith played 22 minutes in place of Grayer, while freshman Brittany Collins played four minutes. Neither bench player scored, but Smith grabbed eight boards.
The Lady Cardinals finish the season 5-13 in the GLIAC and 8-19 overall, while the win tied Northwood with SVSU in the GLIAC standings and improved their overall record to 10-16.
SVSU has no seniors and just four juniors on the team, so experience should play a factor in the team's potential improvement next season.