The Gogebic Samsons headed to Ely, MN this weekend for the Minnesota North-Vermilion Dairy Queen Classic. The Samsons faced the Vikings from Itasca on Friday in their first matchup of the weekend. Despite only dressing five players and playing the last nine minutes of the game with four players, the GCC Women's Basketball team gutted out a tough four-point victory over the Vikings, 58-54.
The Vikings took an early 6-0 lead after hitting back-to-back triples, but GCC responded with a 7-0 run spurred by Ida Bengsston & Jasmine Redhouse. Itasca snatched the lead right back from the Samsons and extended their lead as they finished a strong first quarter up 17-11 on GCC.
GCC's Hanna Hoskin hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter, but on the next possession, Phoenix Corbine picked up her 3rd foul. This didn't faze the Samsons and after trading buckets on a few possessions, Bengsston fueled another small GCC run which tied the game at 20 with 3:25 to go before halftime. Hoskin and Kylee Hewitt sparked GCC's offense for the remainder of the half and the Samson went into the locker room up 2, 26-24.
The third quarter started with runs by both teams. There were ties and lead changes throughout the quarter, but with 1:51 to go in the quarter, Corbine picked up her 4th personal foul. Redhouse continued to attack Itasca's defense as she was able to slice her way through the lane and she hit two free throws with 6.2 seconds left in the quarter to put GCC up 44-39.
With 9:06 left in the final quarter, Corbine committed her 5th personal foul and the Samsons only had four players available to finish the game. GCC locked in defensively and didn't let fatigue get to them as they never relinquished their lead. The Vikings made several attempts to come back and take the lead and got within 1 point after hitting 3-pointer with less than a minute to go. With a 55-54 lead, GCC's Redhouse calmly sank a 3-pointer of her own with 37.9 seconds left, which officially halted the Viking's comeback attempt.
The Vikings were led by Tianna Jones and Brooke Meyer who had 17 points and 18 points, respectively. Four of the five Samsons scored in double figures. Hewitt finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Bengsston chipped in 15 points and 5 rebounds, Redhouse had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and Hoskin finished with 10 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.