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WORTH THE WAIT: Norse Ladies Post Upset Win
 RIVER GROVE, Ill.---The Bay College Norse women's basketball team opened its season more than two months late on Friday, and picked up a big win on the road, 69-65, over 18th ranked Kankakee (Ill.) College in suburban Chicago. The Norse trailed for most of the game, but were able to break the full-court press defense when they needed to down the stretch to snatch the win away from the Cavaliers.  Holly Wardynski scored 13 points, including the game-winning basket with 37 seconds to play, capping a big fourth quarter for her. Lauryn Bloniarz added 15 points, including nine in the second half when the Norse were battling to come from behind. She eventually fouled out. Wardynski, a sophomore from Ontonagon, scored eight points in the second quarter to help Bay rally to take a 34-33 lead at halftime. "I'm feeling pretty good," Wardynski said. "I'm sp happy with how the team played. I was nervous because it was our first game. I didn't know how well it was going to go, but I'm definitely happy with the outcome. It feels amazing!" "We haven't really played together as a team yet," Molina said. "So we were kind of getting used to each other with how we get into the flow, and how each player plays their game. We were really nervous in the front court, and then once we got that down, and we started calming down, we really got the jist of it." The Norse had trailed, 14-4, early in the game, and were still down, 31-21, until they finished the first half on a 13-2 run heading into the locker room.  That's when Wardynski came through with a basket and foul, and after missing the free throw, Bloniarz got a huge rebound and putback, plus a foul. She sank the free throw to cut the deficit to 60-59, and then the defense made a stop at the other end, leading Wardynski to a driving layup at the other end, giving the Norse a 61-60 lead with three minutes left in the game. Kankakee regained the lead at 63-61 on a Emma Morts three-pointer, and the game went to the final seconds tied. That's when Wardynski tried to cut to the basket, got cut off, but tried again, and went to her left hand with a layup that floated home with 37 seconds left. Bay led, 67-65. "It was kind of a mistake," Wardynski said. "I went one way and it didn't work. So, I just turned around, and it ended up working out." Then the Norse had to play some defense, and got the stop. That gave Bay the ball, and the Cavalieers chose to play the posession rather than foul. When they couldn't get a steal, or a forced shot, they fouled Kennedy Englund with 6.9 seconds left. Englund sank both free thows and that made it a four-point game that the Norse would seal for a big win. Brandi Hudson scored 24 points to lead the Cavaliers. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos, and listen to Trisha McGuire's Player Spolight Interview.  |
