Parkside 65, Saginaw Valley State 55
The Parkside Women's Basketball team put in their best defensive performance of the year holding Saginaw Valley State to just 55 points on 18-of-61 (29.5-percent) shooting. The win is their second straight after taking down Purdue Northwest 74-72 earlier this week, and brings the Rangers to .500 on the year.
 
DOWN THE STRETCH
Saginaw Valley State led for most of the first half, but was never able to fully separate from the Rangers. The Cardinals held a 29-22 lead with the clock winding down in the first half, but a buzzer-beating three from junior Courtney Schoenbeck pulled Parkside back to within four going into the half.
 
Coming out of the break, Parkside tightened up on the defensive end and started to get in a groove offensively.  After shooting similar splits to the Cardinals in the first half, the Rangers shot 13-of-30 (41.9-percent) from the field while holding Saginaw Valley State to just 8-of-31 (25.8-percent) in the second half. Parkside outscored the hosts 18-12 in the third, and 22-14 in the fourth.
 
HEAR FROM COACH CONELY
"Such a hard-fought game today against a tough Saginaw Valley State squad," said head coach Jen Conely. "I thought we played well on both ends – we were disciplined and executed our game plan consistently on defense. Offensively, we missed some shots that we normally make, but continued to work for great shots."
 
"I thought our game management down the stretch was solid," Conely continued. "We have seen growth in closing games, even from earlier this week. Instead of it coming down to the wire, we were able to build our lead and put the game away late. Looking forward to game two – we need to be prepared for another battle tomorrow!"
 
STATWORTHY
The Green & White were led by juniors Alyssa Nelson and Hannah Plockelman. Nelson finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while Plockelman poured in 12, and brought down seven boards. Senior Alexis Vaughn also put in a well-rounded performance with nine points, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Parkside will close out their road trip at Saginaw Valley State tomorrow at 2 p.m. Next up, they'll return home to host the reigning GLIAC champion Ashland Eagles in a Saturday-Sunday doubleheader. Game one will tip off on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 1 p.m., with game two slated for Sunday, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m.