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ESCANABA---The Bay College women's basketball team battled the Delta College Pioneers from the Saginaw area on Saturday in the next-to-last game of the regular season, and nearly pulled off a big upset victory.

But 16 first-half turnovers, and 28 overall turnovers, proved to be too much to overcome as the Norse lost, 64-60, before a loud crowd at the Bay College Gym.

The Norse trailed by 18 points at the end of the third quarter before making a huge push against a team that they had lost to by 36 points (91-55) exactly one month ago.

Bay actually got off to a good start, leading 16-12 after the first quarter. The Norse got it inside twice to Tianna Taylor for strong finishes, Alyssa Cretton knocked down a couple of shots, and Stephanie Frappy drained a three-point basket.

But Delta's pressure defense was too much to handle for the Norse in the second quarter, as multiple turnovers led to easy Pioneer baskets. The visitors outscored Bay, 26-8, in that quarter, and took a 38-24 lead into the halftime break.

Catarina Juarez, the reigning MCCAA North Division Player of the Week, scored a dozen points for the Pioneers in that first half.

The turnover troubles continued in the third quarter, with Erynn Williams being the recipient of a pair of easy defense-to-offense lay-ups. She also nailed a triple from in front of the Norse bench, and Delta took a 56-38 lead into the fourth quarter.

All of a sudden, the Norse found ways to handle that pressure, and they knocked down some shots to get back into the game.

Bay trailed, 58-41, with less than seven minutes left when they mounted the comeback. Alaina Trudeau knocked down a triple with 6:33 left to start the rally, and then Taylor made two shots in a row to cut the score to 58-48 with 4:53 left in the game.

The Pioneers split a pair of free throws to go back up by eleven, but Emma Rutter scored with 3:52 left to close the deficit to 59-50.

Then Rutter got a steal, and passed to Trudeau for a triple, which she missed. But Rutter got the rebound, and sent it back into the corner to Trudeau for another try. She made this one, making it 59-53 with 3:01 still left in the game. Then, after a stop on defense, Alyssa Cretton hit a jumper to close the game to 59-55 with 2:26 left on the clock.

With 1:43 left, the Norse put Juarez on the foul line, and she split the free throws, making the score 60-55. The Norse turned the ball over, however, and this time, Juarez made both free throws, stretching the Pioneer lead back to seven at 62-55.

Trudeau missed a triple, and the Norse had to foul again, putting Desiree Jackson on the line with 46 seconds to play. She made the first but missed the second, so the Norse wer behind, 63-55. And they still weren't finished, as Trudeau drained another three-point basket with 39 seconds left to close the deficit back to five at 63-58.

The Norse stepped up on defense and forced a turnover, which led to a Cretton basket with 19 seconds to play that brought them to within 63-60.

Bay was in “foul mode” again, and Juarez made one free throw but missed the second.

The Norse could not get the rebound, though, so they had to foul Juarez again. She missed again, but the Pioneers again got the offensive rebound. Juarez turned the ball over, though, when she was trapped at half court with seven seconds to play.

A long triple by Stephanie Frappy missed, and the Norse suffered a 64-60 loss.

Cretton led the Norse with 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Taylor had 13 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. And Trudeau contributed 13 points and six rebounds. The Norse, however, made only 5-of-11 free throws as a team.

Williams led the Pioneers (15-11 overall, 9-3 MCCAA) with 19 points, and she had six steals on defense. Juarez had 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Destiny Harrison chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds.

Later on Saturday, Alpena lost to first place Mid Michigan, so the Norse remained tied with Alpena for the fifth and final playoff spot. And now, there's just one game left to play in the regular season for both teams.

The Norse will host Mid Michigan Tuesday night and Alpena will battle Delta College at the same time. If both teams remain tied after Tuesday, then the MCCAA tiebreakers will be used to decide which team will advance to next week's conference tournament.

Tuesday's game between the Norse (9-18 overall, 5-8 MCCAA) and first-place Mid Michigan (23-3 overall, 12-0 MCCAA) starts at 5:30 and it will be broadcast live on FM-106.3 and on-line at www.radioresultsnetwork.com.