Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear Makenna Hendrickson's player spotlight interview.
FLINT---The Bay College Norse women's basketball team had its most successful season in program history come to an end on Sunday with a loss in the NJCAA Region 12 championship game at the Ballenger Fieldhouse in Flint.
The Norse lost to the nation's second-ranked team, the undefeated Schoolcraft College Ocelots, 82-60. The Bay ladies kept the game as close as they could for as long as they could, but Schoolcraft's deep roster proved to be too much to overcome.
Bay finishes its season with a 25-6 record, after getting its first-ever Region 12 semifinal win in dramatic fashion over Grand Rapids Community College 48 hours before.
Schoolcraft had eleven different players score in the first half, and overall, the Ocelots' 82 points came with not a single player scoring more than 13 points.
Despite that, the Norse hung in there for most of the first half. The Ocelots, who routinely open wide leads and cross the 100-point mark, seemed out of sync early on, missing lay-ups and free throws. Still, Schoolcraft led, 19-11, after the first quarter.
The Norse closed the gap with back-to-back baskets by McKenzie Hoffmeyer and Jillian Fraser to make it a 21-15 game in the second quarter. Later in the quarter, Lauren Zawada and Makenna Hendrickson scored baskets on back-to-back trips, and the Norse were within 27-23 at the mid-quarter media timeout.
The Norse could not keep up the pace, though, as the Ocelots finished the first half on a 17-5 run to put Bay into a 44-28 hole at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Norse got to within 13 points at 48-35 as Hendrickson got to the free throw line twice and made all four of her foul shots.
But Bay could get no closer, as Schoolcraft went on another run, this time, a 19-4 spurt that made it a 67-39 game. The Ocelots cruised from there as they improved to 31-0 on the season, advancing to the national tournament in what will likely be a high seed.
Zawada led the Norse with another double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. She was named to the All-Region Tournament Team. Hendrickson added 14 points and made all eight of her free throws. She was also named to the All-Tournament team.
Schoolcraft, from the Detroit suburb of Livonia, was led by Tournament MVP Siena McNitt with 13 points, six assists, six rebounds, and a pair of steals. Riley Abney added 12 points, and Mariah Scott and Brianna Young both contributed ten points. Young also had ten rebounds for a double-double.
Bay College outrebounded Schoolvcraft, 38-33, but the Norse were forced into 26 turnovers. Bay was only able to force five Ocelot turnovers from a line-up that included nine sophomores.
For Bay, unless there is an unexpected at-large bid offered to the national tournament, the season is over. And the Norse careers of four sophomores: Hendrickson, Zawada, Hoffmeyer, and Gracie Kleikamp.
