The GCC Samsons completed a regular season sweep of the CLC-Brainerd Raiders on Saturday, February 8th. After defeating the Raiders at home earlier in the season, the Samsons beat CLC 63-55 on their home court. Although GCC never trailed in the game, it was a battle until the end as the Raider’s 4th quarter rally fell just short.
Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net as the game began. The first points didn’t go up on the scoreboard until about two and a half minutes into the game when GCC Freshman Sydney Saari scored inside. She followed that with a 3-pointer on the next Samson possession and then Sophomore Melissa DiGiorgio scored inside to give GCC an early 7-0 lead. Fellow Sophomore Kate Borseth closed the quarter with two 3-pointers and a nice inside move, scoring with her left hand. GCC was very successful in shutting down the CLC offense and the Samsons went ahead 15-8 after the opening quarter.
Despite two big 3-pointers from DiGiorgio, the Raiders outscored GCC 13-11 in the second quarter as CLC cut into the GCC lead. The Raiders reduced the deficit to 5 points as the Samsons finished the half ahead with a halftime score of 26-21.
The Samsons came out on fire in the third quarter. GCC drilled six 3-pointers in the quarter and scored 26 points in the third, which is the same amount they scored in the first half. Sophomore Annabelle Besonen drilled 3 from behind the arc and scored all 9 of her points in the third quarter. DiGiorgio continued to show her versatility as she scored inside and beyond the three-point arc for the Samsons. After she scored in the paint with less than four minutes left in the quarter, GCC had its largest lead of 16 points (51-35). The Raiders responded immediately with a run of their own and closed the gap to 9 points and trailed the Samsons 52-43.
GCC took the momentum back to start the final quarter. After a clutch 3-pointer from DiGiorgio and a tough left-hand layup from Borseth, the Samsons stretched their lead to 15 (61-46) with 3:40 remaining. GCC then went scoreless for the next three minutes and the Raiders trailed 61-55 with just over thirty seconds to play. CLC was forced to foul and Freshman RaeLynn Robinson drilled two free throws with 32.8 seconds left. The pair from the charity stripe were Robinson's only points in the contest, but they couldn't have come at a better time as GCC prevailed 63-55.
DiGiorgio put up 19 points and 7 rebounds for the Samsons, despite tweaking her ankle in the second half. Borseth added 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Besonen chipped in with 9 points and Saari added 8 points.
