ESCANABA, MI – The Bay College Norse Women's Basketball Team (8-18) could not keep up with the Dakota College at Bottineau Ladyjacks (20-12) on Sunday afternoon, falling in the Region 13 Championship Game by a final score of 70-48.
The Ladyjacks took control early and started the game on a 13-4 run. Bay needed to get their offense going and found sparks from Bree Arsenault (SO, Hermansville, MI) and Andie Arsenault (FR, Hermansville, MI) who both hit three-pointers, helping the Norse cut the deficit to four by the end of the first quarter.
Both offenses stagnated in the second quarter. Bottineau was only able to score seven points, but that topped Bay, who got just a pair of baskets inside from Tianna Taylor (FR, Gwinn, MI) and Madison Olsen (SO, St. Ignace, MI). The Ladyjacks held a 26-19 lead at halftime.
Bay struck quickly in the third as they created a turnover off the initial possession and used a pair of offensive rebounds to give Bree Arsenault a chance to score at the rim. After a stop on the defensive end a foul sent Andie Arsenault to the line and she hit a pair of free throws. The Norse trailed by just three at that point.
That would be as close as the Norse would get. After the two teams traded baskets, Bottineau broke the game open with a 16-4 run giving them a big lead. Kennedy Englund (SO, Rock, MI) hit a three to stop the run, but the Norse were left in a big hole, trailing by 17 at the end of the third quarter.
The Norse were never able to slow the Ladyjacks down in the fourth. Dakota College-Bottineau claimed their biggest lead of the day when they led by 24 with just under two minutes to play. They would cruise to the Region 13 Title with a 22-point victory.
Fifteen turnovers plagued the Norse in the contest. They shot just 34.0% from the floor while the Ladyjacks hit on 40.0% of their shots. Bottineau also had the rebounding advantage in the contest 39-30. It all added up to the Ladyjacks getting 65 shot attempts up while the Norse only shot 47 times.
Bay was led by Olsen who closed out her Norse career with 12 points and four rebounds. She signed her letter of intent to continue her career at Olivet College after the game. Andie Arsenault finished with ten points, while Tiana Taylor had ten points and five rebounds off the bench.
For the Ladyjacks, who will go on to the District Championship on Saturday, Maria Moore (SO, Mandan, ND) had 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Jacie Hall (FR, Bismark, ND) also had 15 points and grabbed five rebounds. Kaitlynn Scherr (SO, Landgon, ND) had 11 points and four assits, while Trinity Goggles (SO, St. Stephens, WY) had 11 points and eight rebounds.
The loss ends the Norse season as they finished with eight wins and 18 losses on the year.