CHICAGO, IL – The #22 ranked Bay College Norse Women's Basketball Team (6-2) lost a heartbreaker on Friday night, falling 68-67 to the Oakton Community College Owls (9-1). The Norse bounced back on Saturday afternoon with a dominating 86-46 victory over the McHenry County College Scots (0-8).
On Friday the Norse took a comfortable 33-22 lead into the locker room at halftime, only to see the Owls make some adjustments and regain the lead after three quarters of play, setting up for a dramatic finish.
The Norse trailed by two with 20 seconds showing on the clock. Bay worked the ball inside to Lauren Zawada (SO, Bark River, MI) only to have her shot blocked by Anna Prim (FR, St. John, IN) and Oakton grabbed the rebound forcing Bay to foul to extend the game with just 4.6 seconds remaining.
Oakton stepped to the free throw line with a chance to put the game away, but could not convert any of the free throws. Unfortunately for the Norse, they were not able to run down the long rebound after the second miss, and the Owls looked to seal the win with the offensive rebound. Sensing the pressure from the Norse, the Owls Head Coach quickly called for a timeout, only to find out that Oakton was out of timeouts. Oakton was charged with a technical foul with 2.3 seconds on the clock.
Given the golden opportunity to steal the game on the road, the Norse were only able to convert one of the two free throws. They still had an opportunity to win, as the ensuing inbounds pass was a beautiful lob to the back side of the lane, but the wide open layup went off the side of the rim, as did the last second tip in try, and the buzzer blew ending the game in disappointing fashion for the Norse.
Mckenzie Hoffmeyer (SO, Bark River, MI) led the Norse with 19 points, eight rebounds, and six steals. Makenaa Hendrickson (SO, Baraga, MI) ended her day with 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Addison Cullen (FR, St. Ignace, MI) was seven of seven from the charity stripe on her way to 11 points.
Oakon's Arianna Pryor (FR, Evanston, IL) ended with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Arainna Labeau (FR, Belvidere, IL) picked up 14 points and six rebounds, while Daphne Brown (FR, Elgin, IL) had ten points and seven assists. Ashlie Riley (FR, Fort Atkinson, IL) ended with ten points and seven rebounds.
On Saturday the Scots took an early five-point lead, but the Norse turned the game around in a hurry. A 26-4 run to finish out the first quarter put Bay in control of the matchup and they would not slow down. Bay led 49-22 at halftime and had the game all but put away after three quarters of play, allowing the Norse to roll to a forty-point victory on the road.
Zawada just missed on a double-double effort as she had 16 points and nine rebounds. Hoffmeyer had another good showing putting up 14 points, four rebounds, six assists, and five steals. Hendrickson also had a good game with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Nina Bower (RS-FR, Bark River, MI) finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
Cassidy Serpe (SO, Huntley, IL) led the Scots in scoring with 11 points and four rebounds. Mikayla Saas (SO, McHenry, IL) picked up a double-double, scoring ten points and grabbing ten rebounds. Lyndsay Regnier (SO, Spring Grove, IL) also had ten points.
The Norse will return home to host the Terrace Bay Hotel Holiday Classic Tournament on Friday and Saturday. North Central Michigan College, Glen Oaks Community College, and Milwaukee Area Technical College will participate in the event with NCMC and MATC tipping off the tournament at 2 pm on Friday. The Norse will face Glen Oaks at 6 pm on Friday evening. On Saturday Glen Oaks will battle North Central Michigan at 10 am, while the Norse will go up against the Stormers of Milwaukee Area Tech at 2 pm.