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ESCANABA---Close again, but still no rewards.

The Bay College women's basketball team played hard in a doubleheader on Friday, against two teams with a combined record of 19-1. The Norse had the lead late against 10-0 Gogebic Community College but faltered down the stretch, losing, 63-58.

And after a two-hour break, the Norse played the 9-1 and 16th ranked Oakland Community College Raiders. They had the lead for much of the game, and trailed by just one point late, but lost 61-55.

It was the fifth and sixth losses of the season for the Norse by eight or fewer points.

“There are some positive things,” Bay College Coach Matt Gregory said. “I said that today was going to be a test of our physical and mental strength. And it was. They hustled. They worked very hard. It was a matter of getting out there and playing basketball, and finding ways to be able to push, even though they knew they were exhausted. Playing a doubleheader at the college level is hard, especially in games like this.”

The Norse had to play twice because the Western Technical College team had to turn back while en route to Escanaba from LaCrosse Friday morning, and the three remaining teams in the four-team Bay College Winter Classic scrambled to decide what to do.

The plan: Bay would play twice, against Gogebic Community College and against Oakland Community College, with a two-hour break in between games.

And Matt Gregory's team played well in stretches, and hustled for 80 minutes, but suffered two more losses to fall to 4-7 on the season heading into holiday break.

Against GCC, the Norse had the lead for the majority of the game, only to have the win snatched away at the very end. The Samsons led, 13-9, late in the first quarter, before the Norse clamped down on defense and didn't allow a point for more tan four minutes.

Bay scored 13 straight points, started off by a Stephanie Frappy jumper and an Alyssa Cretton driving lay-up to tie the game, and then capped off by a Kassidy Roll bucket that gave the Norse their biggest lead at 22-13.

Bay kept the lead the entire quarter, with a Mari Humphrey triple restoring the nine-point cushion at 31-22. The Norse led 33-27 at halftime after another Cretton bucket.

West Iron County graduate Emily Nelson started to get going for Gogebic in te third quarter, Her basket tied the game at 44-44 early in the fourth quarter. The Norse responded with baskets by Roll and Emma Ruter to go ahead, 48-44, and then Tianna Taylor scored inside off the Claire Vanginhoven pass to make it a 50-44 lead.

GCC went on a 7-1 spurt, with Nelson scoring to give her team a 52-51 lead with 2:34 left on the clock. But Gladstone graduate Alaina Trudeau answered with a long two-point jumper in front of the Norse bench, to give Bay a 53-52 lead.

Cretton knocked down four free throws after the defense got two stops, and Bay had a 57-52 lead, which seemed like it would be enough to give GCC its first loss of the season.

Unfortunately, in the final minute, the Norse defense fell apart and allowed three straight uncontested triples: by Jasmine Redhouse (her only points of the game), and then Ida Bengtsson with 38 seconds to play, giving GCC a 58-57 lead.

The Norse tied the game with a free throw, but Hanna Hoskin knocked down a triple with 19 seconds to play to give GCC a 61-58 lead. The Norse had one more chance, but turned the ball over, and GCC clinched the game with two free throws.

The Samsons, who improved to 10-0 at the time, before they lost to Oakland Community College on Saturday, ended the game on an 11-1 run against the Norse.

“They are a tough team and showed why they're 9-0,” Gregory said. “I thought we did some good things, especially in the first half. Actually, that's probably the best first half of basketball that we've played all season long. We can't leave open shooters, especially late in the game. It's pretty easy to score when you're left wide open. We've got to find ways to close out games.”

GCC had four players finish in double figures scoring: Nelson with 20 points, six rebounds, and and five blocked shots on defense.

Bengtsson had 15 points and nine rebounds; Kylee Hewitt added 12 points and nine rebounds; and Hoskin scored eleven points.

Bay College got 14 points from Cretton, 12 from Trudeau, and ten points from Roll. Trudeau added six rebounds and Roll had five rebounds as well.

After a two-hour break, the Norse were back on the court against the 16th-ranked Raiders. The Norse battled through the fatigue and hung with the Raiders all night long, holding a small lead for most of the way.

Bay led, 15-13, after one quarter, and then the game was tied at 30-30 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Cretton knocked down a triple to make it 35-31, and then after the Raiders scored a triple of their own, Trudeau launched a triple to give Bay a 38-34 lead.

OCC ramped up the defensive pressure, and Chloe Gilbert had a steal and a driving layup with 2:00 left in the third quarter to put the Raiders ahead, 44-40. It was a 47-42 Oakland lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Oakland stretched its lead to 50-42, but a Cretton basket, and three free throws by Vanginhoven brought Bay to within 50-47 with 5:20 to play.

And then when Trudeau nailed a triple with 2:38 left, an upset was in striking distance with the Norse trailing just 55-54.

But the same thing happened as had happened earlier in the day against Gogebic.

Gilbert knocked down a big triple after the Norse had played strong defense for most of the Raider shot clock. And moments later, Hannah Covert sealed the game with a three-pointer with 1:14 left to give OCC a 61-54 lead.

OCC (10-1) was led by Taedom Stein, Isabel Dugal, and Gilbert, all of whom scored twelve points. Bay College got 15 points and eight rebounds from Alaina Trudeau, Cretton had 14 points, and Vanginhoven chipped in 13 points (including nine free throws). Tianna Taylor had six rebounds to go along with her five points.

The Norse are idle until after the holidays, when they travel to Florida for a tournament hosted by Palm Beach State College.