ESCANABA, MI – The Norse Women's Basketball Team (1-3) could not keep pace as the Finlandia Lions (2-0) took advantage of a second quarter scoring drought by their hosts to run away with a 69-50 victory.

Bay got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 7-2 lead off of a Holly Wardynksi (SO, Ontonagon, MI) jumper and three-point shot in consecutive possessions.  The Lions' Bailey Froberg (SR, L'Anse, MI) provided an answer however, drilling two shots from behind the arc giving Finlandia their first lead of the game.  The Norse trailed 17-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Bay College found trouble to begin the second as they struggled to put the ball through the hoop.  The home team did not score until the 4:10 mark in the second quarter, and were on the wrong end of a 13-2 run that put the Norse in a hole.  Bay would score just seven points in the period and find themselves down by a score of 33-22 at the half.

The Norse offense continued to sputter in the third, and Finlandia stretched their lead to as many as 18 at the midway point of the quarter.  With 4:21 on the clock Kennedy Englund (FR, Rock, MI) hit a three that sparked a bit of a run for Bay, and they took momentum into the final quarter by cutting that lead down to twelve.

The Lions were quick to squash that momentum in the fourth as an 8-2 run would knock the wind out of the sails of the Norse.  Bay would never really get back into the matchup and end up falling by 19.

Finlandia ended up shooting well, hitting on 55.1% of their shots from the floor, which included six of 13 from behind the three-point arc.  They also outrebounded the Norse 29-17.

Wardynski led the Bay attack with 14 points and hit three of seven three-point attempts on the evening.  Lauryn Blonairz (SO, Perronville, MI) added 12 points and six rebounds.

The Lions were paced by Katie Lundeen (JR, Maple, WI), who ended with 17 points and five rebounds.  Mariah Austin (JR, Negaunee, MI) contributed 12 points as well.

The Norse will be on the road this weekend as they are set for a rematch at Triton College on Friday evening.  They then visit #15 Morton College on Saturday before taking on South Suburban College on Sunday afternoon.  All of those games will have a radio broadcast.  The link for those calls and any livestreams will be posted on the schedule page at www.baynorse.com.