WISCONSIN DELLS, WI – The Bay Norse Women's Basketball Team (7-7) ran away with an 84-33 victory in their return to action from the holiday break. The Norse defeated the Madison College Wolfpack (1-11) the first game of the Holiday Classic at Just A Game Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells.
Bay set the pace early with an 18-3 run to start the game. Bay hit 45.5% of their shots in the opening frame and outrebounded the Wolfpack 12-4. Kayla Staveness (SO, Rio, WI) had all five points in the first quarter for Madison, as she hit a three and two of four throws. Bay went into the second quarter leading 24-5.
The Norse cooled off in the second quarter, hitting just six of 25 of their shots. This time Madison relied on Emily Rottier-Douangmala (FR, Eagle River, WI) for the second ten minute period as she hit a pair of baskets from the floor and was three of four from the charity stripe.
The Norse flexed their muscle defensively in the first half. They created 19 turnovers and only gave up 14 field goal attempts in the first twenty minutes. Kennedy Sproule (FR, Winnipeg, MB) hit four three-pointers in the first half to give her 12 points, helping to lead Bay to a 40-12 lead at intermission.
Madison, who came into the game with just five healthy bodies, put up their best effort in the third. They were effective attacking the rim and hit seven of their eight free throw attempts. Still, the Norse extended their lead in the third, and it was 56-24 heading into the final period.
Bay took advantage of the short-handed Wolfpack in the fourth. As the time ran down, having no subs started to wear down on the Madison five. Meanwhile the Norse offense turned it back on. Bay hit 43.5% of their shots including three of six from three. They would also finish the game a perfect five of five from free throw.
Bay created 29 turnovers and outrebounded Madison 55-35. Twenty-eight of the Bay rebounds were offensive. That led to Bay getting up 93 shots compared to Madison's 35. That was what led to the Norse running away with a 51-point victory.
"I think a lot of girls showed improvement on some of the things we have been working on," Norse Head Coach Todd Ciochetto said. "You didn't see many fumbles. You didn't see many bad passes, there were a few, but it wasn't 30 or 40 like we've been having. We ran a better offense, and we had 28 offensive rebounds, so we crashed the boards. I thought Ashlee [Burchette] really came around in the second half, being a leader, and directing the offense. I thought Leah Allan was really, really good today. And I thought Siena [Lingle] just controlled the game, and she was playing with four fouls. I think we were better than how we've been playing, and I like where we are at. We're close to being really good."
All five Norse starters finished in double digits. Ashlee Burchette (FR, Minneapolis, MN) led all scorers with 20 points. She also had five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Sproule ended up knocking down five three-pointers on her way to 17 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds. Jada Freudinger (FR, Norway, MI) ended with a double-double, picking up 16 points and ten rebounds. Siena Lingle (FR, Marquette, MI) was just short of a double-double, as she had 15 points, eight rebounds, and five steals. Leah Allan (SO, Oconto, WI) finished with ten points and seven rebounds. Camryn Carver-Bonner (SO, Minneapolis, MN) grabbed seven rebounds for the night.
The Wolfpack were led by Staveness who had 15 points and six rebounds. Rottier-Douangmala ended with 13 points and eight rebounds. Tazhia Aune (SO, Winona, MN) also grabbed eight rebounds.
Bay will wrap up their Dells trip with a matchup against Lake Michigan College on Saturday at 4:30 pm.