MUSKEGON---The Bay College Norse women's basketball team rallied from ten points down in the second half to stun the Muskegon Community College Jayhawks, 63-55, Saturday in Muskegon.

Anisa Longs keyed the win with a strong performance, off the bench, at both ends of the court. And the win pulled Bay even with Muskegon for second place in the MCCAA North Conference standings, although Muskegon still currently holds the seeding tiebreaker.

''This is a big win for us,” Norse Coach James Fassett said. “It keeps us in the conversation and it gives the girls some confidence. This time of year, two seed, three seed, it really doesn't matter. We just have to take care of ourselves, watch ourselves on film, be prepared each and every day to get better. I think if we do that, good things will happen for us.”

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The Norse were stuck in the mud throughout the first half as their offense struggled to get into a flow, and the Jayhawks dominated on the offensive glass. Kennedy Sproule knocked down a triple to tie the game at 10-10, but Muskegon went on a 15-5 run, fueled by Norse turnovers and second chance points at the other end.

“Sixteen turnovers (in the first half) is ridiculous,” Fassett said. “That's terrible. And giving up ten offensive rebounds. They wanted to rebound more than we did. It showed in the stats, and on the scoreboard.”

Tyvi Davis, who scored 29 points in a dominating performance last month in Escanaba, scored ten in the first half on Saturday, Bay was able to stay within 32-26 at halftime because of the ten points apiece from Sproule and Lauren Zawada.

“It was just a toughness thing,” Fassett said. “It came down to we either want to win, or we don't want to win. It's just doing the little things. This game, I think sometimes, the X and O stuff gets overblown. It's just heart! It's 'want to'! I want to stop this girl, I want to get this rebound, I want to go score, I want to go make the right play. I think finally, midway through the third quarter, and into the fourth quarter, we were attacking.”

The Norse made a concerted effort to get Davis, and Arionna Williams, into foul trouble. The strategy worked, as both ladies became increasingly frustrated as the game went on. Both had to sit at times with foul trouble, and both eventually fouled out.

“We were able to play a lot without her (Davis) on the floor,” Fassett said. “She's a great player. But she couldn't do what she normally does playing with four fouls. She couldn't be aggressive like she wants to be. In transition, if she's back on defense, she can't really stop a lay-up."

"So, the strategy worked in out favor.”

Longs may not be the biggest girl, but she played big in that second half to help turn the game around. Her defense was outstanding, she passed it well to her teammates, and she pushed the tempo faster than the Jayhawks wanted to play.

The Norse trailed, 37-27, before turning things around after the aforementioned time out. Sproule capped off a 13-3 Norse run with a wide-open triple from the left wing to tie the game at 40-40, and Bay attacked the basket and got to the free throw line 17 times in the second half.

Davis knocked down a triple to retie the game for the Jayhawks at 45-45, but Anna Axtell repiled with a lay-up that also included a technical foul on Muskegon for flopping. Axtell made one of two foul shots and it was 48-45.

Longs drove to the hoop for a bucket to make it 50-47, and then she had a steal, basket, and one free throw, to give the Norse a 53-47 lead with seven minutes to play.

“I feel good. We took the L last time, so we had to come and get it,” Longs said. “We had some turnovers in the beginning, so I knew I had to come in and not turn it over. We had to turn it up! We were down by a lot, so I knew I had to come in and do something. Their best players, they want the ball in their hands, so I had to play up so they couldn't get the ball to Number 23 (Davis). She's a good player, so we just had to put good defense on her, and get her out of her mindset.”

Fassett was impressed with Longs' tenacity.

“Niss is a competitor,” Fassett said. “When she wants to compete, she gets out there and competes. And she does take this stuff personal. I think we saw that in her play today. She wasn't going to let us get outdone today.”

Longs had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting. She had three steals, three rebounds, two assists, in 20 minutes of play off the bench.

“In our huddles, Coach was just saying that we're always just looking for the next pass and that's why we were turning the ball over,” Longs said. “We just had to look to score, and that's what I was doing. It was fun. We really needed it. We were preparing for it, and it's good to come back with a win.”

Sproule and Zawada both ended up with 15 points and Axtell contributed 14.

Davis led Muskegon (18-5 overall, 8-2 MCCAA) with 21 points. Anna Lundquist had a double-double of ten points and 13 rebounds. The Jayhawks have a make-up game on Monday against Montcalm Community College in Muskegon.
 

For now, the Norse lead by a half-game for second place with an 9-2 conference record, and 16-9 overall. If Muskegon wins Monday, then the Jayhawks and Norse would be tied for second place, with the Jayhawks ahead on the sixth tiebreaker (record against non-conference NJCAA Division two schools).

Bay College is back in action Wednesday night with another road game against Kirtland Community College (4-13 overall, 3-7 MCCAA). Kirtland also has a make-up game Monday night against first place Mid Michigan before playing the Norse.

Game time Wednesday is 5:30. You can tune in on FM-106.3 and on-line at www.baynorse.com.