ESCANABA, MI – In what was a big game in keeping the postseason hopes alive for the Bay College Women's Basketball Team (8-16, 4-6 MCCAA) took a ten-point victory against the Alpena Community College Lumberjacks (6-11, 4-6 MCCAA) on their homecourt. The Norse held off Alpean for a 51-41 win.
Alpena took the early lead but Bay scored seven-straight to take the lead. Aliana Trudeau (SO, Gladstone, MI) knocked down three shots from behind the three-point arc in the in the period, including a pair on back-to-back possessions that gave the Norse a lead they would never surrender.
A 9-0 run to start the second help the Norse create a cushion. Alyssa Cretton (SO, Niagara, WI) was the spark in that stretch, scoring seven points in over a six-minute span. Bay's defense also played a big part in the run, as Alpena would not score their first basket of the second quarter until the 3:18 mark. The Norse led at halftime by a score of 24-18.
The Norse have had their third quarter struggles throughout the year, and this game was no different. A Trudeau three-pointer was the only basket for Bay in the first seven minutes of the second half. Fortunately for the home team the Lumberjacks were not able to take advantage, and only scored six points in that stretch. It did cut the lead to just three points as the third quarter drew to a close.
The final two minutes of the third proved to be a turning point for Bay. Cretton hit a jumper and Bay followed that by creating a turnover. They then found the hot hand and Trudeau hit yet another triple. After a quick basket by Alpena, Tianna Taylor (SO, Gwinn, MI) got in the action with a basket. After another Lumberjack turnover it was Cretton finishing off the quarter with a three-pointer of her own. After the dust had settled on the third quarter, Bay led 39-28.
From there the Norse had a counter move to every Alpena advance. The Lumberjacks closed the lead to within single-digits on multiple occasions, but the closest they could get would be an eight-point deficit with just 1:29 remaining. Trudeau hit a pair of free throws to get the lead back to ten, and Alpena got only one shot in the final minute of play.
Alpena was hampered by a poor shooting night from deep as they missed on all 17 of their attempts from three. They only got to the free throw line six times, but hit five of them. The Norse shot 12 free throws, and were good on nine of those attempts.
It was a bit of an "I'm back" moment for Trudeau. In just her second game missing more then a month of action with an injury, she was five of ten from three-point and finished with 25 points to go with four rebounds and two assists. Cretton was also really good, as she had a double-double, picking up 16 points, ten rebounds, and three steals.
Jade Schultz (SO, Alpena, MI) led the Lumberjacks with 19 points and nine rebounds. Allison DeRocher (SO, Alpena, MI) finished with a double-double and had 12 points, ten rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
The win made things interesting for the North Division as it pertains to the postseason. Bay is now tied with Alpena for the fifth spot in the conference standings, which is the final position for a postseason berth. The Norse will look to take care of business and hope for a little help to avoid a tie-breaker scenario at the end of the season.
They will look to do so on the road on Saturday against a tough Muskegon Community College team. Bay lost 56-28 in their matchup back on January 21. At the same time, Alpena will be hosting Grand Rapids Community College. The Lumberjacks fell to them by a score of 72-48 the first time around. Both of those games will tip at 1 pm on Saturday afternoon.