By Lindsey Soet
On Jan. 17, the Grand Rapids Community College women’s basketball team kicked off conference play against Mid Michigan College at the Ford Fieldhouse. Despite freshman guard Tia Richard’s 19 points, the Raiders were not able to hold off MMC’s offense and suffered a blowout loss, 95-42.
The first quarter proved to be difficult for GRCC, as the Raiders struggled to make a shot into the net. Scoring only seven points in the quarter, the Raiders missed eight 3-point shots and made 12.5% of their field goals. Fortunately for the Raiders, they had a strong performance at the free-throw line, shooting 75% and accounting for three of their seven points in the quarter. The Raiders headed into the second quarter trailing MMC 7-20.
The second quarter continued to be challenging for the Raiders, as they still struggled to stop MMC’s offense. However, GRCC did manage to get past the Lakers’ defense, scoring 10 points, six of them 3-point shots. Richard led the Raiders in the quarter, scoring eight points and bringing down one rebound. Despite Richard’s best efforts, the Lakers continued to surge ahead, leaving the Raiders down 17-55 heading into the second half.
While the Lakers continued to get past GRCC’s defense in the third quarter, the Raiders were able to capitalize on MMC’s foul trouble. The Lakers amassed seven fouls in the third quarter, allowing the Raiders to score seven points off free throws. However, the Raiders continued to struggle scoring and went into the final quarter down 34-80.
Both teams struggled to score in the fourth quarter, with GRCC only making two FGs and MMC making five out of 15 FGs. Maintaining possession was also a challenge for both the Raiders and the Lakers, as GRCC had six turnovers and MMC had four in the final quarter. Despite MMC’s fourth-quarter struggles, the Raiders couldn’t catch up and lost 95-42.
Head coach David Glazer believes that the team’s biggest struggle was competing against a team playing at a higher level. “(MMC) is just a really good team and is a really deep talented group,” Glazer said, “We’re just not at that level right now.”
Richard believes that better communication and teamwork will allow them to perform better in future matchups, saying, “We’re just too busy trying to play it for ourselves, so once we tie it all together, put all our skills together, we (will) be much better.”
Richard led the Raiders with 19 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Freshman guard Ava Schultz scored 14 points, 10 rebounds, one assist and one steal. Richard’s performance is especially noteworthy, as it is only the second game she has played in this season due to transfer restrictions.
Glazer is excited to have Richard on the court, saying, “Richard kind of puts everybody back in a natural position, (I’m) excited to continue to watch her grow.”
Richard is not the only new face on the court for the Raiders, as shooting guard Noli Brown has also been added to the roster following winter break. Glazer is pleased to have more depth within the team and is excited to see how Brown progresses as the season continues. “Noli gives us a little bit more depth,” Glazer said, “She’s coming along, she’s figuring out what we need from her.”
GRCC is now 3-9 overall and 0-1 in conference play. The Raiders will be back in action on Jan. 20 as they hit the road to play Alpena Community College at 4 p.m.
