Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear from Grand Rapids native Amya Harris

GRAND RAPIDS---The Bay College Norse women's basketball team raced to a 25-11 lead after the first quarter and had to grind out a 48-43 win over the Grand Rapids Community College Raiders Saturday at the Gerald Ford Fieldhouse in Grand Rapids.

The win, admittedly not the prettiest, allowed the Norse to stay all along in first place in the MCCAA North Conference standings with a 9-0 record (17-7 overall).
 

It was also Bay's 13th straight win.

Grand Rapids, meanwhile, fell to 7-13 on the season (4-5 MCCAA).

“We had to survive and be ahead at the end of the game,” Norse Coach Todd Ciochetto said. “How we had to do it, and what we had going against us, we just had to figure out a way to win, and we did. That's all we can really say, so we don't get in trouble.”

Ciochetto became increasingly frustrated with the officiating as that game moved on, and the play became increasingly physical and chippy. Grand Rapids had two starters foul out from the game, while the Norse had two players with four fouls each when it was all over.

The first quarter saw the Norse do much of what they set out to do coming into the game, including getting Cam Carver-Bonner her first three-point basket in a Norse uniform. Leah Allan scored eight points in that first ten minutes, and Jada Freudinger chipped in five points.

Bay could not get the knockout punch after getting that 25-11 lead, getting just five points in the second quarter as Grand Rapids climbed to within 30-25 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Bay was able to get triples from Allan, Emma Rutter, and Siene Lingle to keep the Raiders at arms-length.
 

The Norse led, 43-34, entering the fourth quarter.

In that fourth quarter, Lingle's basket gave the Norse a 45-35 lead, and after the Raiders got a Tia Richard triple, Freudinger answered inside the paint to effectively seal the deal at 47-38.

Allan and Lingle both scored 12 points for the Norse, while Freudinger added nine points.

Richard led GRCC with 17 points.

Bay College will be on the road again this Wednesday night in Alpena is 7-13 on the season, 4-5 in conference play, after the Lumberjacks lost in Muskegon, 77-44, on Saturday.

The Bay-Alpena game will start at 5:30 and will be broadcast on Maverick FM-106.3, and on-line through the AUDIO link at www.baynorse.com.