Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos. Click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Anna Axtell and Coach James Fassett. Also hear Brooklyn Phillips player spotlight interview.

IOWA FALLS---The Bay College women's basketball team had a rough time scoring points early, and a late comeback fell short on Friday with a 53-47 loss to the State Fair (Missouri) Community College Roadrunners at a tournament in Iowa Falls, Iowa.

Menominee High School graduate Anna Axtell led the Norse with a game-high 21 points, but Bay was unable to deal with the Roadrunners' Ellie Buscher, Kayla Sullivan, and Kimora McClure. They combined to score 29 points and grab 19 rebounds, with Sullivan getting a double-double of ten points and eleven rebounds.
 

“I think we just started out slow,” Bay College Coach James Fassett said. “We had some open looks early, but we missed them. Then, we started second-guessing ourselves, and we got a little bit gun-shy for a little bit. We just weren't aggressive offensively as individuals. Early, they pressured us when we were trying to run our sets. Every time we would catch the ball, they were right there with us, making us get out of what we wanted to do.”

“It just felt kind of lazy,” Axtell said. “We weren't really playing our best defense. I think we could have played a little better. I think towards the end, we started figuring it out, and started rebounding a little better. That's something we really struggled with. That's the main reason they had such a big lead for pretty much the whole game.”

Bay never had the led in the game, falling behind, 12-9, after the first quarter, and getting outscored, 18-7, in a sluggish second quarter.

That 14-point lead was more than enough for the Roadrunners, even though they also had trouble being consistent on offense. Bay made a run in the fourth quarter to close to within nine, but the final six-point margin was misleading into the way the game went.

“That's their strength,” Fassett said. “Strong inside, rebounds, put-backs. Keeping us to one shot and not letting us get second-chance points. They definitely played their game, and played to their strengths today.”

In the end, their size in the paint carried the day as the Norse fell to 1-2 on the season.