PORT HURON, MI – The Bay College Women's Basketball Team (7-3) saw a comeback effort fall short against the #14 ranked Mid Michigan Lakers (9-0) on Saturday afternoon. After leading by 20 in the third quarter, the Lakers were able to fend off the Norse and come away with a 80-75 victory.
The Lakers jumped out to a lead early by shooting 61.5% in the first quarter. Mid Michigan continued their assault and led by 16 at the half.
It looked as though it would be a runaway victory for the Lakers, as they grabbed a 63-43 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Norse still found themselves down by 19 midway through the fourth quarter before they went on a run.
A Holly Wardynski (FR, Ontonagon, MI) jumper would be the spark that ignited the comeback effort. After Bay forced a quick turnover, they turned to Haley Trudell (SO, Rock, MI) who answered, knocking down a three-pointer to cut the lead to 14. The Lakers experienced a scoring drought for the next three minutes, during which time the Norse got to the free throw line and hit six consecutive free throws to pull within eight.
After the teams traded turnovers Brooke Dalgord (SO, Garden, MI) hit a jumper, which was followed by a costly technical foul. JuliAnn Wickman (SO, Felch, MI) continued her strong day from the charity stripe, knocking down two more. The Lakers responded with two points, but the Norse got baskets on consecutive possessions, and the score would stand at 79-73 with 29 seconds to play.
Bay College was then forced to foul to stop the clock. Unfortunately for the Norse, they had not committed a foul to that point in the fourth quarter. By the time they got to their fifth foul and a bonus situation, precious time had ticked off the clock, leaving just eight seconds left in the contest. The Lakers hit one of two free throws, and a buzzer beating layup by the Norse would be too little, too late, as Bay fell by five points.
Amelia McNutt (SO, East Lansing, MI) made four of seven three-point attempts on her way to 24 points. Steffi Kracko (FR, Dewitt, MI) also had a strong showing for the Lakers. She hit 12 free throws, scored a total of twenty points, along with grabbing six rebounds, and racking up six steals. Savannah Peplinksi (SO, Traverse City, MI) added 16 points.
Wickman led all scorers with 26 points, going ten from 11 from the free throw line. Trudell shot well, hitting six of 12 from behind the three-point arc and ending with 20 points. Dalgord corralled nine rebounds for the Norse.
Bay returns home and will host the Quality Inn & Suites Holiday Classic next weekend. On Saturday they welcome Harper College in for a 6 pm game. On Sunday they face off with Milwaukee Area Technical College at 2 pm.