UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Purdue Northwest women's basketball team fell 81-73 in double overtime to Saginaw Valley State on Saturday afternoon.
PNW dropped to 8-15 (5-11 GLIAC) after suffering its first loss in the Pride's fourth overtime contest of the season. SVSU improved to 13-7 (8-5 GLIAC) and swept the season series between the two teams.
Dash Shaw (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) led the Pride with 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Reagan Courier (Delavan, Wis./Big Foot) and
Abbie McDowell (Tecumseh, Mich./Tecumseh) each scored 11 while
Molly DeValkenaere (Milwaukee, Wis./Brookfield) posted 10 points.
Kennedy Jackson (Carson, Calif./Redondo Union) chipped in with seven points and Kyle Schmidt added six points and seven boards.
How it happened: PNW led 73-71 after Schmidt's driving layup in the second overtime period, but went scoreless over the final three minutes of the game. SVSU closed on a 10-0 run as the host Cardinals went 8 for 8 at the free-throw line to seal the win.
Missed opportunities at the line were crucial for PNW in a tight, back-and-forth matchup that featured a one-possession game most of the way. The Pride went 16 for 24 (66.7%) at the stripe while the Cards finished 27 for 37 (73%).
The largest lead of the day came after PNW's 7-0 run near the seven-minute mark in the second quarter put the Pride ahead 29-24. PNW would go on to lead 38-37 at halftime after a hot-shooting opening half, but the second half proved to be a different story.
PNW built a three-point lead on Shaw's layup with 3:30 to go in the third quarter, but scoring over the third and fourth quarters proved much more difficult on both sides. SVSU took a four-point lead in the fourth, but the Pride responded immediately to even the score back up with under five minutes left in regulation.
Then, PNW held on to force overtime. The Pride went the final four-plus minutes of regulation without a field goal but Shaw's free throws tied the score at 59-59 with 20 seconds left. PNW buckled down with an outstanding defensive effort to force a desperation attempt by the Cardinals at the buzzer.
In the first overtime, SVSU missed a free throw in the final seconds which kept the deficit at two points, 68-66. Courier would end up tying the game at the line with seven seconds, and again the Pride locked down the Cards at the final buzzer to force the second overtime period.
The Cardinals were led by Kaitlyn Zarycki with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Maddie Maloney scored 18 points while Tori DePerry recorded a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
UP NEXT
PNW will prepare to host Lake Superior State for "The Mane Event" Homecoming game on Thursday, Feb. 17. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. CST inside the Hammond Campus Fitness & Recreation Center.
FOLLOW THE PRIDE
For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest Women's Basketball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics & @PNWWBB) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
