The GCC Samsons ended their regular season schedule with a home victory over the Iron Hawks from Minnesota North-Vermillion on Wednesday, February 19th. This 87-63 victory brought the Samson's regular season record to .500, with 11 wins and 11 losses.
The Iron Hawks took an early 5-0 lead, but GCC responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Sophomores Annabelle Besonen and Kate Borseth and the Samsons took a 6-5 lead. The lead changed hands a few more times in the opening quarter, but Borseth and fellow Sophomore Melissa DiGiorgio both drilled 3-pointers in the second part of the first quarter and the Samsons rolled to a 20-14 advantage after one quarter.
GCC took charge offensively to begin the second quarter, as Borseth had a steal and went coast to coast for an easy bucket. Freshman Sydney Saari then scored five consecutive points for the Samsons, and GCC took a 7-point lead with 6:49 to go. Saari, Besonen and Borseth continued to be offensive sparks for GCC, as they helped the Samsons build an 8-point lead with 3:18 to go, which was their largest lead of the quarter. The Ironwood Hawks scored inside on their next possession, but DiGiorgio then split a pair from the charity stripe, and GCC held the 37-30 lead. Vermilion then seized all the momentum and went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead in the quarter (38-37) with less than a minute left to play in the first half.
Since the Iron Hawks only had 5 players available for this contest, foul trouble was definitely a concern for them. With 3.8 seconds left, Sophomore Lilly Johnson was fouled in the act of shooting, and that foul was the fifth personal foul for Vermillion's Angie Schuchardt. The Iron Hawks head coach disagreed with the call and was issued a technical foul. Johnson split the pair of free throws and Borseth split her pair for the technical. Due to the technical foul call, GCC maintained possession and had an opportunity to score again before heading into the locker room. Johnson drilled a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded and GCC took all of the momentum and the four point lead (42-38) into halftime.
GCC outscored the Iron Hawks 45-25 in the second half, and Saari and fellow Freshman Gracie Kleikamp stepped up their offense. Saari scored 9 of her 18 points in the third quarter as she found success in the paint as well as beyond the 3-point arc. Kleikamp had one of her best offensive performances of the year as she scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half, leading the Samsons to their 87-63 victory.
Kleikamp lead GCC with 22 points and Saari scored 18 points, along with grabbing 6 rebounds. Borseth had all 14 of her points in the first quarter, and also dished out 7 assists and had 7 rebounds. Johnson chipped in with 11 points and 6 rebounds.
The Samsons will head to Bismarck, ND to play their region tournament. GCC will face Dakota College-Bottineau on the campus of the United Tribes Technical College on Saturday, March 1st at 2:00 pm. The winner of this game will play United Tribes Technical College on Sunday, March 2nd at 2:00 pm.
