Over the weekend, the Grand Rapids women’s basketball team traveled to Petoskey, Michigan where they battled Alpena Community College and Cuyahoga Community College and were able to win both games and are now on a three-game winning streak.
The women’s team was participating in the North Central Michigan College tournament. They first took on Alpena Community College on Friday, Nov. 10 in their most dominant win of the season. From the opening tip, the Raiders were able to take control.
It was the Raiders’ defense that helped them jump out to a lead in the first quarter as they forced the Lumberjacks to shoot 9% from the field and kept them under 10 points. However, GRCC also struggled on offense but was able to get to the line to hit three free throws and knock down two 3-pointers for 15 points.
In the second quarter, the key for the Raiders was their ability to draw fouls and get to the line as they shot seven for 10, hitting three 3-pointers and once again displaying their defense by forcing the Lumberjacks to shoot 17% from the field.
The Raiders only allowed 10 points in the second quarter, while scoring 20 points themselves to build on their lead going into halftime, 35-18.
Coming out of halftime the Raiders were looking to keep their momentum going and build their lead and that’s exactly what they did as they had their best quarter scoring 22 points in the quarter, with 21 of those points being 3-pointers.
Alpena Community College was no match for the Raiders’ defense as they continued to struggle from the field as they shot 20%. The Lumberjacks couldn’t stop GRCC from going on runs and couldn’t keep up with the Raiders’ shooters as they splashed home seven 3-pointers versus one made 3-pointer.
The final quarter, there was a bit of comeback attempted by the Lumberjacks as they shot 69% from the field and scored 23 points, it seems that the Raiders took their foot of the pedal in the fourth, but they scored 12 points of their own to keep Alpena at bay to take home the first game of the NCMC tournament, 69-50.
Freshman guard Aaliyah Ratliff led the way for the Raiders with 31 points and seven 3-pointers and Freshman guard Tianna Daye followed with 19 points of her own and hitting four 3-pointers.
GRCC’s head coach Dave Glazier was happy with Ratliff’s performance against Alpena.
“She had a big game for sure,” Glazier said. “I think anytime a shooter like Aaliyah can get going early it stretches the floor and helps create space for her teammates. She was a spark for us today no doubt.”
On Saturday, Nov. 11 the Raiders had their second game of the NCMC tournament taking on Cuyahoga Community College and it was a defensive battle throughout the game as both teams struggled to score.
In the first quarter, it was back and forth with both teams having trouble putting the ball in the basket as they both shot under 30% from the field, but the Raiders were able to knock down two 3-pointers that gave them the lead in the first quarter.
It was again a neck-and-neck battle between the teams as they continued to struggle on offense, which kept the score close going into halftime, 22-18.
Coming out of halftime, both teams had advantages in different areas that kept the game close, as the Raiders were more efficient from the field and knocked down three 3-pointers, while Cuyahoga was able to draw fouls and hit six free throws that made up for their inefficiency.
With only a four-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the Raiders were able to play more efficiently than Cuyahoga and were more physically around the basket, they hit six out of 10 free throws and were able to take home the game with 13 points in the quarter versus 10 points from Cuyahoga with a final score of 49-42.
Avery Jirous, a sophomore guard, scored 13 points and a team-high nine steals to help lead the Raiders in their victory over Cuyahoga.
Glazier said he was proud of the victory the team had to close out the weekend.
“We continue to show growth each time we take the floor and today was no different. Very pleased with the full effort.” Glazier said.
The Raiders will continue their road play when they take on Jackson College on Wednesday, Nov. 15 in Summit Township at 5:30 p.m.
