ESCANABA, MI – The Bay College Women's Basketball team (7-1) overcame a mostly poor shooting night to grab a 69-55 win over the Alpena Community College Lumberjacks (1-5) on Monday night.
Neither team could boast a particularly strong start, as they seemed to match each other on the offensive end. Alpena made three of 14 field goal attempts, two of them from three-point, while Bay only hit on three of 15 attempts in the first quarter.
After over four minutes of scoreless basketball to start the second quarter, the Norse reclaimed the lead on a Haley Trudell (SO, Rock, MI) three-pointer. Bay's defense stepped up to pick up the offense in that second quarter, forcing ten Alpena turnovers. The Lumberjacks went over eight minutes without scoring in that period, allowing the home team to build a nine-point lead at the half.
Intermission did nothing to spark either offense as shooting woes and scoring droughts plagued both teams in the third quarter. A slow start by Alpena allowed Bay to stretch out to a 16-point lead with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter, but the Lumberjacks made a charge to finish off the quarter, and closed the lead to five heading into the final period.
The Norse offense picked it up in the fourth, hitting on five of seven attempts from three-point, and seven of ten overall. Alpena refused to go away however, and it remained a seven-point game with just over two minutes left to play. Trudell helped spark an 11-4 run to finish the game, scoring eight points in the final two minutes, fueled by a pair of three-pointers.
The 14-point victory was Bay's fifth consecutive win.
Trudell was four of four from behind the three-point line in the fourth quarter, and seven for 11 for the game. She hit two free throws down the stretch to finish with a game high 23 points. Trish McGuire (FR, Gwinn, MI) added ten points, five rebounds, and three assists. Keshia Davis (SO, St. Ignace, MI) grabbed eight rebounds, while Kaitlyn Hardwick (SO, Gladstone, MI) pulled down seven rebounds.
Emma Jore (SO, Alpena, MI) ended up as the leading scorer for the Lumberjacks. She hit 11 of 14 free throw attempts and scored 18 points and had five steals. Brooke Nguyen (SO, Alanson, MI) scored ten points on the evening.
The Norse will participate in the Lindquist Classic hosted by Gogebic Community College next weekend. On Friday, November 30 they matchup with Hibbing Community College at 2 pm. On Saturday, December 1 they face Vermilion Community College at 11 am.