CICERO, IL – The #14 Morton College Panthers (8-0) stayed undefeated in their rematch with the Bay College Women's Basketball (3-6) Team Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 99-45 victory.
A week ago, the two teams looked evenly matched, until a second quarter scoring drought for the Norse allowed Morton to take control of this game. This time the Panthers wasted no time grabbing control of this contest and pushed their advantage throughout.
The Norse tied the game at four early, but the hot shooting of the home team took over from there. After a 17-4 run, put the Norse in a hole, they would struggle to slow down the Panthers scoring attack. Morton College led 29-10 after the opening frame.
In a sign that the ball was bouncing in favor of the Panthers, the Norse looked as though they were going to turn the corner defensively early in the third quarter. After a strong defensive possession rand the shot clock down, Morton's Franchesca Metz (FR, Downers Grove, IL) threw up a three-pointer to beat the buzzer, and banked home a three.
The Panthers buried ten shots from behind the arc in the first half, and by halftime they held a comfortable 56-24 lead.
The Norse struggled outside the paint, and did not get a point from one of their guards until 4:54. Holly Wardynski's (SO, Ontonagon, MI) three-pointer at that point, and a Cierra Molina (SO, Rudyard, MI) triple later in the quarter were the only outside threats of the game.
Perhaps the lone bright spot for the Norse was the post offense. Lauryn Bloniarz (SO, Perronville, MI) scored ten points in the first half, and ended up with 15. Sandra Boulton (FR, Carney, MI) also had a strong first half, scoring eight of her 14 points before half. Madison Olsen (SO, St. Ignace, MI) continued her comeback from an injury with six points.
The Panthers were relentless in the second half. They continued their barrage from deep, hitting seven more three's in the second half for a total of 17 on the game. Morton used their spectacular shooting night to run away with a 54-point victory on their home court.
Kayla Briggs (SO, Lewisville, TX) led all scorers, knocking down five three's and totaling 20 points. Dylan Van Fleet (FR, Des Plaines, IL) scored 13 in the first half, and ended with 19 points in the game. Metz used three connections from behind the arc to get to 17 points, while Tadriana Heard (SO, Justice, IL) added 14 points, and Rebeka Tovar (SO, Justice, IL) scored ten.
The Norse will look to regroup as they face yet another ranked team on Sunday afternoon. Kankakee Community College is ranked #20 in the NJCAA Division 2 poll that was released on February 15. The game will be a rematch from the season opener in which the Norse stole a 69-65 victory on the neutral site court of Triton Community College. The second showdown will tip at noon on the home floor of the Cavaliers.