Fast Start Not Enough; Norse Season Ends, 80-56

Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from Norse Coach Matt Gregory. Also click to hear Alaina Trudeau's player spotlight interview.

SAGINAW---This time, the Bay College women's basketball season really is over.

After having their season seemingly end in a loss to Mid Michigan one week ago, the Norse got a surprise invitation to the NJCAA Region 12 District Tournament the next day, and the girls made the most of that new opportunity.

Bay played a spirited first half behind the hot shooting of Gladstone native Alaina Trudeau, before falling to the second-seeded Delta College Pioneers, 80-56, at the Pioneer Gym.

The loss closes the books on a season that ended with a 9-20 overall record, and it marked the end of the Norse careers of sophomores Alyssa Cretton, Stephanie Frappy, Tianna Taylor, and Trudeau.

The final 24-point margin doesn't indicate how the game was actually played, as the Norse went toe-to-toe with the Pioneers for a good chunk of the contest.

“I'm proud of the effort, and I've been proud of the effort all season,” Norse Coach Matt Gregory said. “I know the scoreboard really doesn't show that much, but we're definitely a lot better of a team than we were when we played them here last time.”

The hot shooting of Trudeau gave the Norse some hope early on, as she nailed four triples and scored 15 points in the first quarter alone. Two of Trudeau's triples gave Bay leads of 15-13 and 18-15, but the Pioneers have five different players score to take a 21-20 lead.

Trudeau kept up the hot shooting in the second quarter. After Delta's Erynn Williams drained a triple to put her team ahead, 25-22, Trudeau knocked down her fifth three-pointer to tie the game at 25-25 three minutes into the second quarter.

“It was really, really good to see the confidence that she had,” Gregory said. “That positive energy that she brings. She finds ways to honor the three-point shot. She does a really good job of pulling up. And she was good fundamentally offensively, too.”

The game stayed close late into the second quarter, with Cretton knocking down a shot to bring the Norse to within 35-34. But the turning point came in the final minute, with the Pioneers making two threes sandwiched around a Trudeau miss. The second triple, by Kayla Howell, came at the first half buzzer and put Bay behind, 41-34.

The third quarter saw the Pioneers turn up the defensive pressure, and that forced several Bay turnovers. A 9-2 run gave Delta a 50-36 lead, before the Norse again got long-range shooting from Cretton and Trudeau to cut the deficit to 50-42 with 4:08 to play.

Bay climbed to within 52-46 with 1:39 left in the quarter when Taylor was fouled on two straight offensive trips and made all four of her free throws.

Delta pulled away again when Mya Williams banked in an “and-one” basket, made the free throw, and it was 57-47. Then Destiny Harrison scored twice, once on a steal and a driving lay-up, and it was an 11-1 spurt that gave the Pioneers a 63-47 lead.

“We knew that the third quarter was going to see teams pull away if we didn't take care of some things, and unfortunately, that's what happened,” Gregory said. “But in that first half, it was anybody's ballgame, and I think they knew it, too.”

The Norse, playing with a six-player rotation, was gassed, and the turnovers piled up in the fourth quarter. A Desiree Jackson “and-one” basket made it 74-55, and the Pioneers went on cruise control from there.

“Fatigue sets in, you know. Long season,” Gregory said. “We needed to find ways to take care of the basketball better and make stronger passes. That's just the nature of the beast sometimes. It's hard to step up and make plays, especially when you're tired.”

Trudeau, in her final game in a Bay uniform, led the way with 23 points, including 6-of-9 shooting from three-point range. Cretton, also playing for the last time, added 15 points, and fellow senior Taylor had 12 points and six rebounds. And she took three charges!

“They put their heart and soul into everything,” Gregory said. “It was good to see them step up for the challenge to come down here, and be together at least one more time, lace 'em up, and put on a Norse jersey, and be proud of it. I'm really happy that I got the privilege to work with them.”

Delta College (19-11) advances to the regional semifinals this weekend in Flint. The Pioneers had 22 points from Harrison and 21 points from Erynn Williams. Harrison made 11 of her 12 shots from the field. Jackson chipped in 13 points off the bench.