Click the thumbnails for photos and videos from the weekend.

IRONWOOD---The Bay College women's basketball team pulled back to the .500 mark over the weekend with a pair of victories at the Lindquist Classic hosted by Gogebic Community College.

The Norse rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the host GCC Samsons, 58-48, on Saturday, and then dominated the North Central Michigan Timberwolves, 97-57, Sunday afternoon.

Bay's record now sits at 4-4 on the season as the team tries to find consistency under new head coach Todd Chichetto.

On Saturday, the Norse struggled, especially on offense, falling behind 12-9 after the first quarter before taking a 27-25 halftime lead. But in the third quarter, the Samsons, playing just their second game of the season, got hot behind guard Kylee Hewitt, as well as center Vanessa Webber on the baseline.
 

The game was tied at 36-36 entering the fourth quarter, and Hewitt made a pair of baskets to put GCC ahead, 40-36, with 7:41 left in the contest. That's when the Norse started their comeback.

Sienna Lingle broke the scoring drought with a basket, then Kennedy Sproule tied the game with a put-back basket at the 6:51 mark. Then Lingle and Sproule took turns scoring inside,

Emma Rutter had a steal and a hoop, and then Sproule scored again to give Bay a 50-40 lead with 4:01 left. That concluded a 14-0 run.

“We started off really slow,” Lingle said. “I don't exactly know why, but I think we started to roll towards the end and started playing more as a team. That's just what we've got to do all game. It's all about pace, and it's something that we've got to work on a lot more. I think we'll just learn how to play with each other.”

Lingle led the way for the Norse with 22 points and nine rebounds, after being what Ciochetto described as “awful” at the start of the game. Lingle agreed with his assessment.

“I started really slow and my head wasn't in it,” Lingle said. “He pulled me out. It definitely was needed, because I was not showing up for my team where I needed to be. But I think we definitely pulled through towards the end.”

Sproule contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds. Ashlee Burchette had eleven points, six rebounds, and four assists.

For Gogebic, Hewitt led all scorers with 24 points, while Weber had ten rebounds to go along with her nine points.

“If we're going to be a good basketball team, that has to be a 50-point game, minimum,” Ciochetto said. “Not anything against them, we just should be 50 points better than them and we just did not play well. We finally got out on the break and made some lay-ups. I think we made ten field goals in the fourth quarter, and eleven in the first three quarters combined. We've got to be better.”

Well, they certainly were better on Sunday, as the Norse dominated the Timberwolves from Petoskey the whole way. Early on, the Norse used defense to create offense in taking a 12-5 lead three minutes into the game, and Emma Rutter's second chance basket put Bay in front, 19-10.

That basket started a 13-0 Bay run that ended with the Norse in front, 30-10, after Jada Fruedinger scored inside three times. Bay led, 46-24, at halftime, and kept the petal to the metal in the second half, putting up another 51 points to nearly reach the century mark.

Sproule got hot from behind the long arch, making five triples in the second half on the way to a career-high 32 points.

“In our last game, we started out a little slow,” Sproule said. “I think today we got into it faster. Personally, I was missing a few of my shots but I worked on it at halftime. I was able to hit a few and that helps with the momentum of the game. Sometimes we struggle with our press, but I think today, we were a lot more in the game, playing a lot more aggressive and trying to get more steals.”

Fruedinger was dominant inside, and even stepped out for a couple of longer-range jumpers, as Bay led, 68-38, after three quarters. She ended up with 25 points, crossing the 20-point mark for the second time this season. She also grabbed six rebounds.

Overall, Bay had five players score in double figures, with Leah Allan contributing eleven points. Lingle and Burchette both scored ten. Allan also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

North Central Michigan (1-5) was led by Ella Marchamd, who scored 20 points, including eight of nine from the free throw line. Sadie McGuire scored 12 points before fouling out of the game.

Bay College (4-4) will host Milwaukee Tech Saturday afternoon at 1:00. It will be Military and Veteran Appreciation Day.