Norse Stay Atop MCCAA Standings With Easy Win
Click the thumbnails to see photos and video highlights, and to hear post-game comments from Coach Todd Ciochetto. Also click the AUDIO button to hear Rylee Hansen's halftime player spotlight interview.
ESCANABA---The Bay College Norse women's basketball team won its 12th straight game Wednesday night, rolling past the North Central Michigan College Timberwolves, 93-23, at the Bay College Gym.
Ashlee Burchette scored 30 points and Siena Lingle, this week's MCCAA North Conference Player of the Week, added 22 points.
Norse Coach Todd Ciochetto, however, felt his team struggled at times after last Saturday's emotional win over nationally-ranked Mid Michigan College.
“I don't think we played very well in the first half,” Ciochetto said. “But I think they picked it up, scoring 36 (in the third quarter) after halftime. We had some nice passes. That was a hard game to play. They (Timberwolves) had ten shot clock violations, so, defensively, I thought we were OK. I didn't think we pressured enough.”
But it was enough for the Norse to be in control all night, mainly because of defensive steals that led to lay-ups in the other direction.
The Norse forced 44 turnovers in the victory, and were able to get all nine players a lot of playing time, with all of them getting at least 13 minutes of time on the court.
“Amya (Harris) got some good minutes. I thought she played really well, actually,” Ciochetto said. “Brooklyn (Phillips) got a little more into it, and looked good offensively. I thought Leah (Allan) was really good again.”
Burchette had eight assists, five steals, and eight rebounds to go along with her 30 points. Lingle added seven rebounds, six assists, and six steals to go along with her 22 points. Jada Freudinger contributed ten points and five rebounds, and Phillips had a big ten points as she continues to bounce back from an early-season injury.
North Central Michigan (1-19 overall, 0-8 MCCAA) was led by seven points from Gloria House. Lindsey Cross chipped in seven rebounds.
The win allowed the Norse to keep pace with Mid Michigan at the top of the MCCAA North Conference standings, after the Lakers (20-1 overall, 7-1 MCCAA) also won decisively Wednesday night over Grand Rapids Community College.
Bay College (16-7 overall, 8-0 MCCAA) hold a one-game lead in the standings with six games left in the regular season, with a showdown between the two teams looming in the season finale on Feb. 27 in Mt. Pleasant.
Both the Norse and Lakers got help elsewhere, when third place Muskegon Community College was upset at Delta College, 69-68. That dropped the Muskegon Jayhawks to 5-3 in the conference.
Bay College returns to action on Saturday against Grand Rapids Community College (4-4 MCCAA, 7-12 overall) in Grand Rapids. The game starts at 1:00 and will be broadcast live on Maverick 106.3 FM, and on-line through the AUDIO link at www.baynorse.com.
