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MT. PLEASANT---The Bay College women's basketball team closed the regular season Tuesday night with an 89-72 loss to the Mid Michigan College Lakers.
It was a game between two nationally-ranked teams, with the Lakers ranked 13th in the national poll and the Norse ranked 24th. The Norse led for most of the first quarter, and trailed by just three points at halftime, but a rough third quarter put Bay behind by double digits and the girls could not overcome the deficit.
“In the first half, our effort was pretty consistent,” Norse Coach James Fassett said. “Getting stops and getting buckets was pretty consistent. They came out in the second half, and we didn't come out with that same energy. They pushed the lead there in the third quarter, and we just couldn't recover. I mean, we did cut it under ten at one point.”
The game was played at the Morey Courts, a small AAU facility that has white curtains separating it from other courts where youth volleyball and basketball matches were being played. Buzzers and whistles from the adjacent courts could be heard throughout the game. The crowd was loud, wearing “Beat Bay” T-Shirts, and filling small, four-row high bleachers, literally just inches away from where the girls were inbounding the ball.
“It's definitely a different atmosphere,” Fassett said. “They have a unique home court advantage here that's really kind of wild. I think when they get a new gym next year, it will be a little different. More like everybody else's gym. They'll kind of lose this advantage. But, regardless, you've got to play.”
“I think our girls did a good job of playing through it, but you've got to take care of business on the court. You've got to stop the runs, and you've got to get more of your own runs. And they did more of that than we did.”
The Norse fought through all of that early on. Lauren Zawada scored ten points in the first quarter, and Jillian Fraser sank a triple off the bench as Bay took a 21-20 lead after the first ten minutes.
McKenna Hendrickson got to the foul line in the second quarter and made all four of her free throws. Zawada scored two more baskets, the Norse hung in there against the taller Laker players. Abby Lautzenheiser was a beast inside, using her tall frame to her advantage, scoring nine points in the paint.
“In all reality, their Number Three (Lautzenheiser) really changed the game for them,” Fassett said. “It wasn't that they made a bunch of shots. It was that when they missed shots, she got rebounds and she got put-backs. They didn't really kill us with three's, it was the consistent rebounds and put-backs. Their offensive rebounds turned into buckets, unfortunately for us.”
Ten different Laker players scored in the first half on Sophomore Night, with Alexis Dunn scoring eight points, and Delaney Seaman adding seven. The Norse countered with 15 total points from Zawada, but she got into foul trouble. McKenzie Hoffmeyer added seven first half points as Bay battled to a 38-35 halftime deficit.
The third quarter was costly for Bay. The Norse could not get much going on offense, and the Lakers were able to get good shots as part of a 17-2 run that started the second half. That put Mid Michigan into a 55-37 lead, as Lautenheizer scored five baskets in the quarter. Seaman scored nine points during that third quarter run.
But the Norse did not give up. Bay cut that 18-point deficit in half as Nina Bower came off the bench to put in nine points, and Zawada added a triple. Bay cut the gap to 67-59, and the Norse had the ball. But Hoffmeyer's triple missed, and Seaman made her three at the other end to restore a double-digit lead at 70-59.
In the fourth quarter, a Chole Seymour basket and foul shot brought the Norse to within 73-64. But the Lakers went on another run, led by another Seaman hoop, and Bay could not put together enough plays to cut the deficit down the stretch.
“There's stretches where we have to be tougher,” Fassett said. “There's plays where we go in and we go hard, and make the plays, against some of the lower teams in our division, but then we get to this one, and we don't make that play. We don't go in hard for that rebound. We don't go in hard for that lay-up. That's the mentality that has to change.”
The final score ended up being a 17-point win for the Lakers, and Mid Michigan completed the season undefeated in MCCAA play (14-0). The Lakers are 25-3 overall, and are headed to the state championship tournament this weekend to represent the North at the three-team event, hosted by Schoolcraft College in suburban Detroit.
Mid Michigan was led in scoring by Seaman with 23 points, and Lautenheizer added a. double double of 20 points and 16 rebounds. Madison Smith chipped in 16 points and eleven rebounds for another double-double.
Bay College finished the regular season with a 23-5 record, 12-2 in MCCAA play, good for second place behind the Lakers. Statistically, the Norse were led by Zawada with 21 points and eight rebounds. Hendrickson had another strong stat line with 14 points, ten rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Hoffemeyer contributed 13 points.
The Norse open post-season play next Tuesday night at home against the Muskegon Community College Jayhawks. Bay needs a win in that game to make it to the regional semifinals next weekend in Flint. The Bay-Muskgeon game will tip off at 5:30 Tuesday night. The game will be broadcast live on Maverick 106.3 FM.
