Powered by a strong overall performance from Sophomore Kylee Hewitt and a 27-point 4th quarter, the GCC Samsons prevailed 64-50 in an exhibition match-up vs. the LumberJills of Northland College on Saturday, November 4th, in Ashland, WI at the Kendrigan Center.
GCC started strong and quickly took a 6-0 lead on two baskets inside from Hewitt and one from Freshman Vanessa Weber. Northland quickly scored twice after the Samson run and it was 6-4 with just under seven minutes left in the quarter. Although Hewitt scored on the next GCC possession, NC hit a 3-pointer on their next possession, and it was 8-7 GCC with 2:25 to go. The Samsons closed out the quarter on a 4-0 run behind baskets from Freshman Lilly Johnson and another from Hewitt as GCC led 12-7 after one quarter. Johnson hit a 3-pointer and grabbed a steal, which she turned into a lay-up to give GCC a nice 5-point spark to the quarter for the Samsons, but NC started to get hot from beyond the arc as the quarter went on. The Jumberjills tied the game at 19 with a floater in the lane with 1:23 left in the half. Hewitt immediately scored inside again for GCC to take back the lead, but NC scored with 3 seconds left and the teams went into halftime knotted up at 21.
The 2nd quarter started with 4 lead changes in the first couple of minutes, but NC extended their lead to 29-26 after back-to-back buckets with just over 7 minutes to go in the quarter. After battling throughout the game, GCC Freshman Kate Borseth and NC?s Tianna McKinley were both assessed with technical fouls with 6:47 left in the third quarter. The Lumberjills maintained a two-possession lead with 4:48 to go as they lead 34-30, but Borseth had another plan. On the next Samson possession, she hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. She completed the four-point play with 4:21 left to tie it up again at 34. Both teams really battled each other to finish the quarter as the third finished just like the second, all tied up.
With the scored tied at 37, both teams geared up for the final quarter. GCC Freshman Annabelle Besonen fed Hewitt inside for a bucket and the foul, for three points the hard way. Fellow Sophomore Hanna Hoskin hit a 3-pointer on the next Samson possession to put GCC up 43-37. The Lumberjills were called for another technical foul with 7:45 to go and the Samsons never looked back. Hewitt drilled both shots from the charity stripe, then Hoskin hit another 3-pointer and it was off to the races for GCC as they never relinquished the lead. The Samson lead ballooned to 16 points, 60-44, with 3:12 after Borseth fed Hewitt inside for another bucket. Both teams traded baskets to finish the game and GCC?s 27-point final quarter propelled them to the 64-50 win.
Hewitt led GCC with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Johnson added 12 points, 3 rebounds and two steals, while Weber chipped in 9 points and 5 rebounds for the Samsons.
