Gogebic gets first win of season

By JASON JUNO

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Ironwood — Gogebic picked up its first win of the season Friday night, but co-coach Denver Sharrow liked the way the Samsons played on Saturday better. Unfortunately for them, the No. 1 team in the country was in Ironwood.

GCC beat Alpena CC 75-59 Friday night and fell 91-49 to Rochester CTC Saturday.

Gogebic trailed 27-24 after a quarter in Saturday’s defeat. They struggled to score in the middle quarters, totaling just a dozen points against a Rochester program that won the NJCAA Division III national championship two years ago and lost in the final last season.

“I loved the way we played,” Sharrow said. “We showed up and played super hard, our energy was a lot better, our effort was a lot better. So it was a big step in the right direction. I’m more happy with the loss that we took compared to the win that we had yesterday. I thought they played 10 times better.”

Rochester was just that good, which he said is because of their size and athleticism

“Very, very physical defensive team,” Sharrow said. “They jump passing lanes, they trap and they rotate very, very well. They’re an incredibly coached team. There’s a reason they compete for their national championship every single year.”

It’s one in a series of elite opponents Gogebic has played and Sharrow hasn’t shied away from them.

“We wanted to see those tough teams, we wanted to see those nationally ranked teams,” he said. “Just to show, hey there’s levels to this game and we have to raise ours if we want to compete heading into March.”

Gogebic’s Melissa DiGiorgio scored a game-high 20 points and competed strongly against Rochester.

“She has something genetically in her that doesn’t let her not go as hard as she possibly can,” Sharrow said. “She has that edge to her. She’s a player I wish we had for multiple years. When she shows up, she’s going to compete every single time. She just has something in her.

“She’s undersized, but she still shows up and competes with girls twice her size. That’s just a testament to who she is as a person.”

The Samsons continue to seek more scoring from other players besides her and Kate Borseth. In Friday night’s win, DiGiorgio scored 20 points and Borseth had 17 with no one else in double figures.

“That’s why we’re struggling to get out of those 50s, those 40, 50 point games that we’re having,” Sharrow said. “Finding that third, fourth person that can give us a boost. I think we get great looks, it’s just about converting and executing.”

It was still good to get a win Friday night.

“Super, super happy and proud for the girls,” Sharrow said. “But I think we can play a lot better than we did. Wanted to get our bench in there a little bit and see what we can do as a whole team and going forward that will be limited. We have to go with who’s going to go in there and produce for us.”

Gogebic (1-8) plays at St. Cloud TCC Friday night and Minnesota State CTC Saturday to wrap up the 2024 portion of the schedule.

Saturday

Rochester — Macaya Copeland 16, Allana Bates 17, Aniyah Reuben 17, Nyomi Crushshon 17, Marianna Franklin 7, Tori Henderson 5, Ivette Mendoza 4, Makadyn Gust 8. FTs: 8-13. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: Bates 3, Reuben 3, Henderson 1.

Gogebic — Kate Borseth 8, Annabelle Besonen 3, Melissa DiGiorgio 20, RaeLynn Robinson 8, Abbie LeGault 1, Brooke Stanislawski 3, Gracie Kleikamp 3, Sydney Saari 3. FTs: 8-11. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: Borseth 2, Stanislawski 1, Kleikamp 1, Saari 1.

Rochester 27 45 68 91

Gogebic 24 29 36 49

Friday

Alpena — Bryce Roy 6, Anna Herbolsheimer 9, Jena Wambold 7, Saige Flaugher 16, Jessie Ross 4, Kenna Tippman 2, Abby Platt 5, Cierra Tetz 6, Allison Cece 4. FTs: 18-28. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: Wambold 1.

Gogebic — Kate Borseth 17, Annabelle Besonen 5, Melissa DiGiorgio 20, RaeLynn Robinson 9, Abbie LeGault 7, Brooke Stanislawski 5, Gracie Kleikamp 3, Sydney Saari 8, Karli Bartlett 1. FTs: 12-17. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: Borseth 5, Saari 2, Besonen 1, Robinson 1, Stanislawski 1, Kleikamp 1.

Alpena 13 27 38 59

Gogebic 20 46 64 75