ESCANABA — A balanced scoring attack helped the Bay College women roll to a 113-48 basketball triumph over Montcalm Community College here Saturday.

The Bay men weren’t so fortunate as they dropped a 71-54 decision to the Centurions.

Bay’s women scored six in double digits and turned the ball over just nine times.

“We wanted them to come out and play well,” Norse coach James Fassett said. “This sets a tone for the rest of the conference (MCCAA North) schedule.”

They did just that, racing to a 32-8 lead after the first quarter.

The Norse continued to maintain a fast pace, extending their lead to 40-11 on a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Mckenzie Hoffmeyer more than two minutes into the second stanza.

From there Bay continued to build on its cushion, which reached 60-19 on a pair of gifters by sophomore guard Gracie Kleikamp just six seconds before halftime.

Sophomore guard Lauren Zawada opened the third frame with a layup, set up on a pass from sophomore guard Makenna Hendrickson, and a free throw.

That advantage grew to 90-31 on a 3-point shot by Hoffmeyer late in the third.,

The Norse reached the century mark on a 20-foot set shot by freshman forward Addison Cullen midway through the fourth for a 100-33 advantage.

Zawada led the Norse with 20 points, two assists and two steals.

Kleikamp added a season-best 16 points, six short of her career-high from a year ago when she was playing at Gogebic Community College. She hit all five of her field goals, including four from beyond the arc, and both of her free throws in a reserve role.

“I did the same things I always do on game day, but came in with a better mindset,” she said. “I definitely have more confidence in myself than I had at the beginning of the year. I just had to come in and do my job, work hard on defense which is where it all starts, and find my teammates. This is a big confidence boost. Coach said this is a great way to start the conference season.”

Cullen also scored 16 points. Freshman guard Nina Bower chipped in with 15 points. Hoffmeyer finished with 13 points, two assists and two steals on her birthday and Hendrickson, who went 4-of-4 from the line, collected 10 points, four assists and five steals.

“Nina was also 4-for-4 from behind the arc,” Fassett said. “I think we had three players in double digits off the bench which is really what we want to do.”

The Norse, who improved to 12-3 overall, finished with a 36-22 rebounding advantage. They hit 43-of-77 field goals and 13-of-15 free throws.

Sophomore Emma Rewa and freshman Kendall Stout hit nine points each for the Centurions (3-11), who were 17-of-46 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the line, and had 18 turnovers.

Cold shooting foiled the Bay men (11-4), who trailed 32-26 at halftime.

A layup by Ziad Abouali, a 6-9 freshman forward, brought the Norse with 33-32 less than two minutes into the second half.

Montcalm (8-7) answered with a 28-6 run, extending its lead to 61-38 eight minutes later.

During that span, the Centurions sank six 3-point shots, including three by sophomore Dawson Dunn who led them with 19 points. Freshman Sebastian Kamalzedeh added four triples and 16 points.

Freshman point guard Trye Frey III scored 16 points and Abouali hit 10 for Bay, which lost for the third straight time on its home court. The Norse are 4-4 at home and 7-0 on the road.

They will travel to Petoskey to face North Central Michigan College Wednesday.