ELY, MN – For the third weekend in a row the Norse Women's Basketball Team (3-3) split their weekend games, picking up a win over the Minnesota-North Itasca Vikings (0-7) by a final score of 57-36 in the DQ Classic hosted by Vermilion Community College.
The Norse were forced to play shorthanded as their second-leading scorer and most prolific deep threat Alaina Trudeau (SO, Gladstone, MI) sat out of the contest after being banged up the night before. Fortunately for the Norse they had one of their better overall team efforts with several players stepping up to pick up the slack.
Bay found their first run about midway through the first quarter. With a 6-4 lead the Norse turned it on with a jump shot and three-pointer on consecutive possessions from Alyssa Cretton (SO, Niagara, WI). Minutes later Amya Harris (FR, Wyoming, MI) drilled a shot from behind the arc to cap off an 8-0 run. They ended up leading 14-8 at the end of the quarter.
The Norse defense helped them keep the lead in the second quarter. The Vikings did not score a field goal until 12 seconds left in the half and were two of three from free throw in the period. Meanwhile Cretton would get five of her 12 first half points in the second quarter, including knocking down another triple. Amariona Humphrey (FR, Milwaukee, WI) hit a three of her own helping Bay to a 27-12 halftime lead.
Itasca seemed to benefit from the break and made some adjustments in the third. After Stephanie Frappy's (SO, Bonduel, WI) three to start the half, the Vikings closed the gap with an 8-0 run. The spurt was fueled by Tianna Jones made from three and finished at the rim.
Bay responded with a run of their own. Kassidy Roll (FR, Hermansville, MI) was fouled at the rim as her shot went down. She completed the three-point play from the charity stripe, but Itasca answered back with a three from Lily Gidley. Frappy matched on the next possession, then got a steal and got the ball into Tianna Taylor (SO, Gwinn, MI) who finished at the rim, putting the Norse back up by 15.
That was the last basket of the quarter for Bay, which allowed the Vikings to close the quarter on a 6-0 run. Jones was once again in the middle of it, scoring four points to go with Brooke Meyer's layup.
Itasca seemed to run out of gas at that point. They went over eight minutes in the fourth quarter relying on just one Meyer jump shot for their scoring. During that period the Norse frontcourt turned up the heat as Taylor and Roll combined for ten points in that stretch. By the time the Vikings would score again, they were in an insurmountable 23-point hole.
Taylor and Roll proved to be the spark plugs of the second half. Roll scored seven points after intermission and Taylor ended up with eight, six of which came in the final period.
Cretton ended up leading Bay overall with 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Roll picked up her first career double-double scoring ten points and grabbing ten rebounds.
Jones was the leading scorer for Itasca putting 14 points and grabbing ten rebounds. Meyer ended up with seven points and 11 rebounds.
Bay is back in action on Monday evening as they welcome Lake Superior State's JV team to Escanaba. That game is set to tip at 7 pm.