PALANTINE, IL – The Bay College Women's Basketball Team (6-6) faltered under pressure in the fourth quarter, allowing the Harper College Hawks (5-4) to come from as many as eight behind to take a 58-48 victory on their home court.
Bay had to fight from behind themselves in the early going. The Hawks rattled off a 17 to five run in the first quarter to claim a big lead late in the opening period. The Norse offense finally kicked into gear, and they trailed 17-12 after the first ten minutes.
The second quarter belonged to the road team as the Norse opened the frame scoring the first ten points and staking a lead they would hold for much of the remaining game. Bay hit 46.7% of their shots in the second period, including burying four of six shots from behind the three-point arc, allowing them to build an eight-point lead. The teams went to the locker room with a score of 31-27 in favor of the Norse.
The third quarter continued in favor of the Norse. They would lead throughout the frame, but Harper refused to go away. Despite multiple chances to extend their lead to more then seven, Bay led by a score of 41-36 heading into the final period.
Leading off the fourth, Bree Arsenault (SO, Hermansville, MI) hit a big three to put Bay up by a score of 44-36, giving the Norse a chance to put the game away. The Harper defense would spoil that opportunity.
Harper forced eight Norse turnovers in the fourth quarter alone, triggering a shooting drought of over seven minutes for Bay. By the time they hit a shot from the floor after that Arsenault three, the score was 53-47 in favor of the Hawks with just over two minutes to play. Bay was never able to recover and the Hawks walked away with a ten-point win.
The Norse turned the ball over twenty times in the contest, leading to a distinct Harper advantage. The Hawks were able to win the game despite shooting just one of 19 from deep, partly because they had 60 total field goal attempts to Bay's 43. The Norse also left points at the free throw line, hitting just 11 of their 22 attempts.
Andie Arsenault (FR, Hermansville, MI) had a strong showing again for Bay, scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Tianna Taylor (FR, Gwinn, MI) finished with 13 points and four rebounds.
For the Hawks it was Isabella Aviles leading the charge with 18 points, eight rebounds, six steals, and four assists. Raven Wilson ended with 13 points and five rebounds while Isabella Gebala added ten points.
The Norse will look to rebound Sunday afternoon as they travel to Joliet Community College for a 2 pm tip.