ESCANABA, MI – Kalamazoo Valley Community College (4-3) was able to open a lead in the second quarter which proved to be too big for the Bay College Norse (3-4) on Wednesday evening. The Norse fell at home by a final score of 63-46.
The Norse looked to have put together a game plan that would lead them to victory in the early going. Bay led for much of the first quarter and defensively they managed to frustrate the Cougars' leading scorer, Abby Long (SO, Portage, MI), in the opening frame. Long went 0-5 from the field and 0-3 from three-point in the first, and the Norse held a 15-14 lead after the first ten minutes of play.
Unfortunately for Bay that all changed in quarter number two. Offensively the Norse struggled, scoring just four points in eight minutes of game play. At the same time the visiting Cougars got hot, led by none other then Long. She would score 16 points in the second quarter alone, going five of six from the field, four of five from three-point, and two of two from the free throw line. As a team Kalamazoo Valley shot 50% from the field in the second quarter, opening up a 39-25 lead at the break.
While the Bay was able to slow down the Cougar attack in the second half, the offense continued to sputter. The home team connected on just 18.2% of their shots in the second half, including missing on all three attempts from behind the three-point arc. Free throws did keep them in the game however, and the Norse were able to close the gap to 12 late in the third quarter.
Despite going 11 of 14 from the charity stripe in the second half, Bay didn't have enough steam to keep pace with their guests. KVCC opened up a 25-point lead midway through the final quarter, and cruised to a 63-46 victory on the road.
The Norse were hampered by turnovers, committing 18 of them in the contest while only forcing nine. They did take advantage of the aggressive play by the Cougars, getting to the free throw line 23 times and converting 17 of them, but shot just 27.7% from the field for the game and only hit on one of 14 attempts from three.
Alyssa Cretton (SO, Niagara, WI) led the Norse with 18 points and six rebounds. Tianna Taylor (SO, Gwinn, MI) came off the bench and had a good night, scoring 12 points, grabbing three rebounds, and collecting four steals.
Long has been very good for the Cougars all season long and was able to overcome the slow start to put up impressive numbers again. She was six of 12 from three-point, including several shots that were well behind the arc, and finished with 24 points and five assists. Hannah Vallier (SO, Vicksburg, MI) ended up with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Brynne Johnson (FR, Galesburg, MI) recorded a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds.
The Norse are on the road for their next games as they will look to bounce back against The College of Lake County on Sunday afternoon. That game tips at 2 pm. On Monday they visit Milwaukee Area Tech for a 6 pm start.