By Lindsey Soet
On Jan. 31, the Grand Rapids Community College women’s basketball team faced off against Delta College at the Ford Fieldhouse. The Raiders’ defensive performance, as well as freshman forward Ava Schultz’s season-high 27 points, allowed GRCC to defeat Delta College 77-68.
GRCC had a slow start in the first quarter, scoring only 12 points and shooting 25% from the field. The Raiders led for only eight seconds in the first quarter, with Delta College keeping the advantage for the vast majority of the quarter. Freshman guard Tia Richard and freshman forward Kaylie VanDerHulst tied for the top scorer in the quarter, both with four points. The Raiders trailed Delta College 14-12 heading into the second quarter.
The Raiders seemed to find their groove in the second quarter as they began to pull away from the Pioneers. Schultz hit her stride in this quarter as well, scoring 10 of GRCC’s 19 points. GRCC took the lead over Delta College and were up 31-24 heading into halftime.
The third quarter started off with a bang for GRCC, with Schultz sinking a shot 11 seconds into the quarter. Despite the strong start, the Raiders began to lose their lead throughout the quarter, only leading by four points by the end of the third quarter. The Raiders ran into some foul trouble as well, amassing seven fouls. The Raiders continued to lead the Pioneers 51-47 heading into the final quarter.
The Pioneers quickly caught up to GRCC in the fourth quarter, surpassing the Raiders and taking the lead with 8:12 left in the game. Schultz quickly responded with a two point shot, sparking an 11-point scoring run over the next minute and a half, making the score 66-57. The game ended with GRCC defeating the Pioneers 77-68.
Schultz led the Raiders with a season-high 27 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals. Richard scored 19 points, three rebounds, eight assists and one steal.
Schultz was pleased with her performance, especially coming off an ankle injury and missing GRCC’s last game against Kirtland Community College, “…Coming off my ankle injury I was worried about having to compensate for my ankle, but it felt natural and I think I shot pretty well,” Schultz stated via text.
Head coach David Glazier said he believes that the team’s defensive performance was one of the leading factors for their victory.
“I think we did a number of things well,” Glazier stated via text, “We valued the basketball, we shared the basketball, and ultimately we made enough defensive plays to win the game.”
Schultz believes that it was the team’s communication that set them apart.
“As a team we communicated so much better,” Schultz stated via text.
GRCC is now 6-11 overall and 3-3 in conference play. The Raiders will head up to Petoskey this Saturday to face off against North Central Michigan College at 1 p.m.
