For the SVSU women’s basketball team, a long season continues to get longer.
The lady Cardinals lost for the fourth consecutive time on Thursday to the Northern Michigan University Wildcats, 62-46. With the loss, the team is now 6-11 overall, 1-10 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
Both teams started the game slowly before Northern Michigan netted the first basket via a free throw at the 16:22 mark. Momentum swung between both teams as each battled turnovers. Eventually, the Wildcats began to pull away, making it 22-11 with just under seven minutes remaining in the first half.
A three-point shot from freshman Jessica Alexander brought the score within eight, as the Cards began to draw closer. The team would come within six points with just over three minutes to play. Heading into the locker room at halftime, SVSU trailed Northern Michigan, 26-22.
Alexander led the Cardinals in first-half scoring with nine points. She also tied with senior Briana Graham with five rebounds.
Northern Michigan would not give the Cards a chance to come back in the second half. After a layup by Graham drew the score within two, the Wildcats extended their lead and began to pull away. The road team outscored SVSU 36-24 in the second half to go on and take the win.
Alexander scored a career-best 17 points to lead the team in scoring. She also finished with seven rebounds, tying for second on the team.
Graham totaled 12 points for the Cards off from the bench, while leading the team with eight rebounds.
It was an uncharacteristic bad game for junior Danielle Carriere, who went 0-7 on field goal attempts, 0-5 from beyond the arc, while turning the ball over three times.
As a team the Cardinals only hit on 8.3 percent of their three-point opportunities, a critical statistic when compared to the Wildcats’ 29.2 percent from beyond the arc.
The Cardinals will host Michigan Tech for their next game. Tip off will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24.
