In close games, it's the little things that make the difference.
Tiffin University (3-2, 1-1 GLIAC) proved that axiom in its 67-62 win over Saginaw Valley State (2-3, 1-1), as the aggressive Dragons squad used trips to the foul line, offensive rebounding, and points off turnovers to squeak out the victory.
The Cardinals looked to run away with it early, as they broke out to a 12-3 lead. But the Dragons responded with a 16-7 run to tie the score 19-19 with 7:55 to play in the half. Both teams battled back and forth before TU took a 29-27 lead into the half despite shooting just 30 percent in opening 20 minutes.
The second half continued to be close, with neither team leading by more than 5 points until 2:00 remained in the game. But the little things started to add up in the Dragons advantage as the game wore on.
Tiffin held a 21-12 edge on trips to the free throw line, connecting on 17 free throws to the Cardinals' 9. They also outrebounded SV 47-40, including a 17-11 edge on the offensive glass. TU enjoyed a 12-4 scoring advantage on second chance points and also had 17 points off of 14 Saginaw Valley turnovers.
Jessica Harris posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, including 16 points and 9 rebounds in the second half. Steph Kelly also had a career-high 17 points with 6-for-6 shooting from the charity stripe and 3-for-4 from three point land.
Melissa Gilliland had 8 points while Jordan Fraley and Jessica Farr had 6 points and 5 rebounds each. Karli Mast had 6 assists to lead the team before leaving the game late with an injury.
