The Tiffin University women's basketball team falls short to Saginaw valley 76-64.

Three-point shooting was the difference as the Cardinals went 8-for-18 (44.4%), compared to the Dragons 4-for-22 (18.2%). Overall SVSU scorched the nets at a 56 percent clip while TU shot 37 percent.

After the first five minutes of play, the Cardinals were up 7-4 but went on a 9-2 run in a span of two minutes to lead 16-6. Each team made two more buckets to end the first quarter at 18-8.

The Cardinals extended their lead more in the second quarter, scoring two quick shots to lead 23-8. Tiffin countered with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 23-17. The Dragons fought hard in the second quarter but Saginaw led 38-24 going into halftime. 

Saginaw Valley started the second half on a 6-2 run to lead 44-26, but the Dragons chipped away over the rest of the quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 13-10 to bring the score to 54-39.

Tiffin came out in the fourth strong, outscoring the visitors 10-7 in the first four minutes of play and cutting the lead to 61-49. The Dragons went on a 13-4 run to cut the lead to 70-62, but ran out of time and lost its home opener 76-64.

Aarion Nichols led the Dragons on offense with 25 points shooting 11-for-21, grabbed eight rebounds, and two steals, Savanah Richards scored 13 points shooting 5-for-11 from the field, had three rebounds, three assists, and four steals, and Jessica Chase recorded 10 points shooting 2-for-8, and nabbed one rebound. Freshman Dana Rose had her best game yet so far this season, tallying eight points.