The Grand Rapids Community College women’s basketball team defeated Kellogg Community College in a 68-60 win on March 3. This win allows the Raiders to advance to the NJCAA District tournament semi-finals against Muskegon Community College.
The Raiders were led once again by sophomore forward Bethany Chick (19 points, 12 rebounds) who finished with her 16th double-double of the season. Chick commented on what the Raiders will need to bring against a tough opponent like the Jayhawks in the semi-finals.
“Honestly if we keep playing as a team I think we’ll be fine,” said Chick. “Lockdown on defense and keep our energy up and we should be good.”
The Raiders also saw great contributions from freshman guard Eurasia Green-Boyd (17 points, four assists, three steals), sophomore forward Kendall Griffieon (11 points, 12 rebounds, nine blocks), and sophomore guard Elizabeth Palmer (10 points, eight rebounds, six assists). Green-Boyd chimed in on the team’s efforts going forward.
“We have to clean up the turnovers and continue to work as a team,” she said.
The Raiders controlled the pace of the game throughout, as they were only outscored in one quarter (21-18 in the fourth) by three points. The Bruins still put up a tough fight with an extremely short-handed team – only having seven players in the lineup for the game.
During the second half, the Raiders’ unforced passes into the painted area allowed the Bruins to come up with multiple steals and easy transition baskets. Raiders’ Head Coach Dave Glazier said the team has to work on cutting down turnovers when they go up against the Jayhawks.
“We’re just going to stress it a lot,” said Glazier. “At this point in the year, our kids are locked into what we’re trying to do. They have to know that if you’re in the game, all I can do is speak – not take care of the ball for them.”
Glazier also noted, “I have faith. We don’t have a lot of live-ball turnovers, so we can live with it. We just have to handle the pressure better.”
The semi-finals game against Muskegon Community College will be March 5 at 3 p.m. in the Ford Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks placed first in the Western Conference with a regular-season record of 24-4 (16-2 conference) and automatically advanced to the second round of the tournament with a bye. The Raiders lost the regular-season series 0-2 against the Jayhawks.
Admission for the public is $8 (free for any child nine/under) and free for any individual with a GRCC student I.D. Those who can’t attend may live stream the event via GRCC Sports Network.
