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Also click the AUDIO button to hear Jillian Fraser's player spotlight interview
ESCANABA---The Bay College women's basketball team completed a perfect four-game homestand Friday night with another dominating performance, this time a 127-63 win over the Oakland Community College Owls.
It marked the third time in four games that the Norse have crossed the century mark in scoring, and it was one point shy of the school record. The Norse are ranked 24th in the country in the NJCAA Division Two poll.
“I was thinking about the school record, but I just wanted us to be efficient and play hard,” Norse Coach James Fassett said. “Everybody got into the game, and my expectation for the girls at the end of the game is the same as for the girls who start the game. I get upset when we let easy buckets go, so I never worry much about how many we score, it's how much we give up is what concerns me.”
Norse sophomore Lauren Zawada was on fire, and her teammates found her for multiple open looks. Zawada scored 12 of her team's first 14 points, and she ended up with a game-high 27 points in just 23 minutes of play.
“It was fun,” Zawada said. “I was just trusting the practice that I put in today and all week, and stuff fell for me. It was really nice. No selfish basketball. We all played, and tried to get each other the ball. It was good.”
The Norse scored 70 points in the first half, and allowed just 26. The Bay defense forced the Oakland offense into 22 first half turnovers, and 39 turnovers for the entire game.
“Their style of play, it's either kind of a feast or famine,” Fassett said. “The way they shoot and the way they pressure, if they're getting turnovers and they're hitting shots, they can be feast for them. If they're not, it's famine. Tonight it was famine for them.”
Eleven of the twelve Morse players who took to the floor scored. Besides Zawada's 27 points and nine rebounds, four other players reached double figures.
Jillian Fraser scored 19 points, knocking down three triples, Makenna Hendrickson scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out six assists, and had six steals defensively. McKenzie Hoffmeyer added eleven points to go along with nine assists, and she had five steals. Bay had 32 assists compared to 14 turnovers.
Marissa Ives had a strong 13 minutes off the bench, with six points and four assists.
“I felt really good,” Ives said. “I was really sore last game, so coming back and not having that tiredness was really nice to feel. I've been working on slowing down my shot, instead of rushing it. Finding the right time, pushing the ball up the floor, but under control. Sometimes, I go too fast and I lose control easily. Definitely just working on the little things that don't give me turnovers as much.”
Oakland, which lost in overtime Thursday night to North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, and arrived in Escanaba at 2:45 a.m. Friday, fell to 0-5 on the season. The Owls were led by Larissa Gibson, who had 19 points and ten rebounds.
Bay College scrimmaged St. Norbert University out of Green Bay Saturday afternoon, and will have a week off before returning to action in Minnesota on Nov. 23.
“We're 4-0, but we have a lot of things to work on,” Fassett said. “Whether it's executing our plays, or executing defensively. I haven't been back to Minnesota since last basketball season, so it will be fun to get back.”
The Norse will play Lake Region State College, an NJCAA Division One school from North Dakota, in Minnesapolis. That game will start at 2:00 ET on the 23rd.
