MILWAUKEE, WI - The Bay College Women's Basketball Team (4-5) shot the ball well from outside Monday night, but could not pull through in the final minutes and lost to Milwaukee Area Technical College (7-5) by a final of 63-57.
"We had a shot in the final couple of minutes," Bay College Head Coach Matt Gregory said. "We were fighting back [from a nine-point deficit] and it was good to see the grit and the effort throughout. We haven't played a tough, tough opponent on the second day of a two-game series. That was a good quality basketball team. It was a battle. It was good to see the girls didn't quit, and that they at least had a chance and an opportunity."
Coming into Monday's game, the Norse had never lost to the Milwaukee Tech in women's basketball, winning all six games in the All-time history.
Gladstone High School graduate Alaina Trudeau (SO, Gladstone, MI) got the Norse going with a pair of triples in the first quarter, Alyssa Cretton (SO, Niagara, WI) had a driving "and-one" basket, and Stephanie Frappy (SO, Bondeul, WI) drained a three-pointer of her own
MATC led, 16-15, after the first quarter, though, when Shiuana Nixon-Boyd (FR, Milwaukee, WI) and Aniya Bethea (FR, Riverview, FL) both scored six points with dominating inside play.
The second quarter didn't go well for the Norse offensively, partly because point guard Amariona Humphrey (FR, Milwaukee, WI), playing in her hometown of Milwaukee, got three fouls and sat five minutes of the period on the bench. Bay scored just six points in the second quarter, with Trudeau getting two of the baskets and Emma Rutter (FR, Chatham, MI) the other.
MATC led, 30-21, at halftime, with Nixon-Boyd, who was last week's NJCAA Region Four Player of the Week, scored six more points.
Bay College got the offense going in the third quarter, almost exclusively from the perimeter.
The Norse went on a 10-0 run to take their first lead, highlighted by a four-point play by Trudeau. Cretton added a three-pointer and a long two-point basket, and the Norse made all seven of their free throws in the quarter.
The Norse offense suffered a setback when Humphrey picked up her fourth foul, and then later left the game with an injured ankle (she returned midway through the fourth quarter).
Claire van Ginhoven (FR, Gladstone, MI) knocked down a long jumper late in the third quarter to put the Norse ahead, 44-41, but the final seconds of the quarter were a disaster as Brianna May (SO, Kenosha, WI) scored on a put back, and then with four seconds left, she stole the ball at half court and drove in for a lay-up to give MATC a 45-44 lead.
The Norse went more than four minutes without a field goal, and the Stormers got a pair of big three's from Melinda Calnimptewa (SO, Flagstaff, AZ) in the third and fourth quarters.
Those were the only three-point baskets the Stormers got the entire night, but the second of those triples put MATC up 50-45, and the lead ballooned to 56-47 as the Stormers completed a 15-3 run.
Bay cut the deficit to 60-57, and the Norse needed a defensive stop. They didn't get it, as Nixon-Boyd got a basket and foul shot with 1:10 in the game to make it a 63-57 final. She led all scorers with 24 points, and had nine rebounds as well.
Alyssa Franklin (FR, Bull Valley, IL) had an incredible 16 rebounds for MATC, nine of them offensive boards. Bay gave up 21 offensive rebounds, and were outrebounded, 52-39.
There were 43 fouls called in the game (22 on Bay), and there were 49 turnovers (27 of them on the Norse).
Trudeau led the Norse with 20 points, with three triples.
"That was nice to see," Gregory said. "I know the last couple of games have been a struggle for her offensively. I think this was big, especially against a good quality team like that."
Cretton added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Rutter had a career-high eleven points and five boards for Bay.
"We have to realize just how much faster we have to be to beat these good teams," Gregory said. "They were very, very fast on the floor, and they were able to get to their spots in the paint area. It was tough down low. There was a lot of contact down low. And we got into foul trouble with some very, very key players."
Bay College is home this weekend for the Holiday Classic. The Norse will host Oakland Community College at 6 pm Friday night, and then will take on Western Technical College Saturday afternoon at 2 pm.
Story and photo courtesy of Jack Hall, RRN Sports.