DETROIT – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team saw its postseason hopes come to an end Saturday afternoon with a road loss at Wayne State with a final score of 94-78. Combined with Lake Superior State's win at Purdue Northwest, the Cardinals (7-21, 5-15 GLIAC) are officially eliminated from GLIAC Tournament contention.

Lydia Meredith (Portland, Mich. / Portland St. Patrick's HS) led the team with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Emma Dziezgowski (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park HS) provided scoring off the bench with 17 points, shooting 6-12 from the floor. Megan McCalla (Chelsea, Mich. / Chelsea HS) rounded out the double digit scorers for SVSU with 11 points. She added two rebounds and two assists as well. Lainey Yater (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette HS) led the team in assists with four while adding four points, five rebounds, and a steal.

Wayne State started strong on an 8-0 run before Meredith had the first two points for the Cardinals. Saginaw Valley stuck with the Warriors  as the first quarter went on as Dziezgowski hit two threes, but WSU ended the quarter with a 9-0 run to go ahead 26-10. The threes continued in the second as Meredith and Kaitlyn Geurink (Hamilton, Mich. / Hamilton HS) both hit from deep to cut the lead to 10. The Warriors closed out the second quarter strong with a 9-2 and 4-0 run to go ahead 49-34 at the break.

A three and a converted bucket plus the and-one for Wayne State pushed the lead to their largest of 23 early in the third. Dziezgowski and Laynie Meredith (Portland, Mich. / Portland St. Patrick's HS) continued to score from beyond the arc, cutting the lead to 12. Whenever SVSU started to trim the lead, WSU had a response to keep them at a distance. A 9-3 run for the Warriors pushed the lead back to 22 before Chloe Kilbride (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg HS) hit a three before the end of the third to make it 73-54. Saginaw Valley changed pace and scored from in tight in the fourth but could not mount the comeback. The Cardinals brought it to within 16 on multiple occasions including the final bucket of the game to make it 94-78.

Saginaw Valley shot 41.2% from the floor (28-68) and 29.4% from three (10-34). Wayne State scored more than half of their shots, hitting 57.6% from the floor (34-59) and 57.1% from deep (12-21). The Warriors led the rebound game, snagging 38 boards compared to SVSU's 29. The Cardinals were able to force 18 turnovers and win the points off turnover battle 27-14, but WSU led in points in the paint 36-28 and fastbreak points 13-9.

Season Recap: With the loss and Lake Superior State's road win over Purdue Northwest, Saginaw Valley finished just outside the top eight in the GLIAC standings. The Cardinals close the 2025-26 season with a 7-21 record overall and were 5-15 in GLIAC play. The season brought big milestones for two of SVSU's key players with McCalla hitting 1,000 career points in her third season and Meredith totaling 250 assists, 250 steals, and 500 rebounds in her career, hitting those marks in her senior season.