By Devin Jones
On Friday, Nov. 15, the Grand Rapids Community College women’s basketball team soundly beat an Aquinas team that they had some trouble with just a couple weeks prior, winning with a final score of 60-46.
The Raiders took the lead early and held onto it for the entire game, due in large part to their solid defense. Leading the way for them in that department was sophomore Kendall Griffioen, who ended the game with four blocks.
When asked what inspired her to come out and perform the way she did, Griffioen expressed how important it was for her to “bring the energy” for her team.
“(The energy) starts with one person, and spreads to the rest,” said Griffioen, a team captain, after the game.
Sophomore Bethany Clark led the team in scoring and rebounding, putting up a team-high 12 points on 5-14 shooting. She also led both teams in rebounding, grabbing 14.
Despite a run toward the end of the second quarter that cut their lead to only five, GRCC came out of the halftime break playing with good energy.
When asked what he said to his team to have them come out and play with so much energy, GRCC Coach David Glazier said that he told his players “just to keep working, and keep doing the things that we talked about (before the game)”.
Going into the final quarter, the team promptly took a 10-point lead and never let go of it.
Glazier describes the team’s first win as “delayed,” and was elated to finally have a win under his belt this season. The Raiders are now 1-2 on the year.
GRCC’s next game is at home against Hope College at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 at the Ford Fieldhouse.
