GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Bay College Norse Women's Basketball Team (4-11, 0-1) got their first taste of Michigan Community College Athletic Association and it ended up leaving a sour taste in their mouth. The Grand Rapids Community College Raiders (7-4, 1-0) survived and early surge by their guests and ended up rolling to an 81-47 victory.
The Norse came out hot to get things going. Claie van Ginhoven (FR, Gladstone, MI) hit a three-pointer on the first possession, and Emma Rutter (FR, Chatham, MI) hit a long jumper to give Bay the lead. After a Raider three from Marlene Bussler (SO, Battle Creek, MI), van Ginhoven responded with another basket from behind the arc, followed by a finish at the rim, giving the road team a 10-7 lead after three minutes of play.
The momentum swung drastically toward Grand Rapids at that point. Bay's offense went into an almost ten-minute dry spell, allowing the Raiders to open up a lead on the strength of a 20-0 run. Sally Merrill (SO, Allegan, MI) proved to be the catalyst of the run, scoring eight points to end the first quarter.
Bay was able to keep pace after they got going, but were not able to close the gap. The Raiders dominated the glass in the half, grabbing 17 offensive rebounds, and grabbing 32 total missed shots compared to Bay's 22. The Norse were also plagued by 14 turnovers, leading to a 41-22 lead for Grand Rapids Community College at intermission.
Halftime adjustments did very little to change the path of the contest. Grand Rapids continued to control the game in all aspects, outscoring Bay 24-7 in the third quarter.
With the outcome already decided, the Norse were able to get their best offensive output in the fourth quarter. They hit on three of four from deep, including Amya Harris (FR, Wyoming, MI) sinking a three in what would be a return home for her.
In the end the Raiders were just too much for their guests, taking a 34-point victory to open conference play.
Grand Rapids won the rebounding battle 35-40 including 30 offensive rebounds. Bay turned the ball over 18 times in the game. Those two stats alone resulted in the Raiders getting 95 field goal attempts, while the Norse only shot 62 times.
All eight Bay College players that entered the game ended up scoring in the game. Claire van Ginhoven led the way with 13 points. Tianna Taylor (SO, Gwinn, MI) grabbed ten rebounds. Leah Allan (FR, Oconto, WI) ended her day with seven points and seven rebounds.
Grand Rapids had five players score in double-digits. Merrill paced all scorers with 21 points and 18 rebounds, 13 of them were on the offensive end. She also had three blocked shots. Alyssa Katerberg (SO, Grand Rapids, MI) added 13 points, while Bussler finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Allison Kellogg (SO, Jenison, MI) tallied a double-double, scoring ten points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Grace Lodes (SO, Comstock Park, MI) ended her day with ten points and seven rebounds.
The Norse will look to rebound on Wednesday evening as they welcome North Central Michigan College into town for their first ever home conference game. That matchup is scheduled to tip at 5 pm.