Click the thumbnails to see videos taken by Norse student Jayden Brown. Click the AUDIO button to hear Addy Blowers' player spotlight interview.
ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse women's basketball team got off to a slow start and couldn't recover Saturday, falling to the Jackson College Jets, 86-68, in the Norse season opener at the Bay College Gym. The Norse fell behind, 25-5, in the first quarter, and trailed by as many as 25 points in the second quarter, before finding their footing.
“It was kind of an eye-opener,” Norse Coach James Fassett said. “I mean, with having all freshmen, it took them a while to see what it is. We got off to a slow start, but we kind of figured it out.”
After that rough beginning, the Norse actually outscored the Jets for most of the afternoon, Olivia Kelly-Taylor had a nice game off the bench, scoring a game-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting. She also pulled down seven rebounds, and had two steals and two blocked shots.
“She's been out for like a month because she was sick,” Fassett said. “She's just kind of getting back, and she's one of those players that figures out where the gaps are and where to score. She had a good game today.”
Marquette's Hayley Taylor nearly had a double-double, with 12 points and nine rebounds. Chloe Robinson also scored 12 points, and Kennedy Robinson contributed ten points as the Norse put four players into double figures.
The game was filled with fouls (45 all together), and the teams combined to shoot 47 free throws. Each team had 50 rebounds in the game. Bay closed to within 15 points in the fourth quarter but could not make another push in the final two minutes.
Jackson (1-1) was led in scoring by Madleen Hussein, who scored 15 points, following up with a strong performance on Friday in the Jets' loss to Mid Michigan. Kamrin Ward came off the bench for a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“We've got to practice,” Fassett said. “Now that the girls have seen time against a team that's at our level (NJCAA Division Two) we have an idea of what we can do to keep building and to get better.”
