By Kevin Lopez
The Raiders’ three-game win streak was snapped at the Ford Fieldhouse when they lost to Mid Michigan College 65-87 on Wednesday, Feb 8.
It was an offensive struggle in the first quarter for both teams as the Lakers didn’t score a basket until the 8:51 mark and the Raiders didn’t score till 5:38 mark. Overall, both teams shot poorly from the field, but the Raiders struggled mightily with only two baskets in the quarter, shooting a chilly 10% from the field while the Lakers moved the ball for six assists that also got them three 3-pointers in the quarter and they completely dominated the glass.
GRCC’s head coach David Glazier was unhappy with the team’s overall performance.
“(Zone) is something we run and we’ve had success with it, so we thought our coverage was going to be better. Unfortunately, they weren’t,” Glazier said. “They fight, they do, but they gotta stop having to be such a fight.”
Sally Merrill, a sophomore guard, scored all of the Raiders baskets in the first quarter with seven points. The Raiders seemed out of tune in the quarter and struggled to run their plays and get good shots. They were also running a zone that wasn’t working as the Lakers had several wide open looks at the basket and for three as the Raiders fell behind 7-17.
The second quarter was a bit better for the Raiders as they outscored their opponent and shot 33% from the field, while holding the Lakers to 29%. However, it was turnovers that really hurt the Raiders having committed seven. There were many unforced turnovers in the quarter that seemed to hurt their spirits and halt momentum they could’ve had as they still trailed 21-32.
The third quarter was where it all fell apart for the Raiders as they only scored 14 points on 35% from the field, while their opponent scored 31 points on 60% shooting from the field, while draining six 3-pointers that took the life out of the Raiders as they trailed 35-63.
Moving into the final quarter, the Raiders played their best ball. Dropping 30 points in the quarter on 58% shooting, Alyssa Katerburg, a sophomore forward, had two 3-pointers in the quarter. Still, it wasn’t enough for the Raiders to come back in the game as the Lakers had 24 points and capped off the night by forcing a steal and holding the ball to take the win 65-87.
This puts the Raiders at 11-7, with a 5-3 conference record and gives the Raiders their first home loss since Dec 5.
In the final minute of the fourth quarter GRCC’s head coach David Glazier was assessed a technical foul after having a verbal exchange with the referee that involved explicit language being used.
“Sometimes you gotta let your team know that you’re fighting for them,” Glazier said. “It is what it is.”
Merrill, who finished the night with 20 points and seven rebounds, was ready to put the loss behind them.
“Gotta start in practice,” Merrill said. “We do have a long trip coming up and that does mess with our rhythm. We have a shoot around on the way there and the quicker we can flip the switch to the next page, we’ll be better off as a team.”
The Raiders will go on the road to face Bay College at 1 p.m in Escanaba on Saturday, Feb. 11.
