By Graham Fisher

fishergr@grinnell.edu

As the season is winding down for the women’s basketball team, the Pioneers are making a final push to make the conference tournament. On Tuesday, the Pioneers beat Knox College 94-75, led by Tolu Alabi ’13, who finished with a season-high of 27 points.

“Yesterday was a really good win for us, in that we had a lot of people contribute,” said Head Coach Kate Gluckman. The Pioneer offense did have a lot of contributors, indeed. Though led by Alabi, the offense played balanced basketball, finishing the game with a total of eleven players recording points, including four that ended in the double digits.

Not only was the Pioneer offense shooting the ball well, Coach Gluckman said they recorded a “record high number of assists,” highlighted by first-year Alissa Hirsh’s nine. Hirsh’s play has not gone unnoticed.

“When she’s on, she’s one of the best point guards in the league,” Gluckman said.

Anne Boldt ’16 also praised Hirsh.

“I’d say that Alissa has really stepped it up these past few games and she’s been a great asset to the team,” she said. Boldt was one of the double-digit scorers for the Pioneers against Knox, dropping in four shots for a total of 10 points.

For Gluckman, another player has continued to show up for the Pioneers.

“[Center] Michelle Briggs has had two really great games these past two games,” Gluckman said. “We win when Michelle plays well, rebounds the ball well, plays good defense and gets some blocks. Her leadership has been solid.”

Gluckman also mentioned Abby Jaeger ’14.

“Abby Jaeger had a tough game yesterday, but had two really solid games before,” Gluckman said.

For the Pioneers, it is a goal to play in the conference tournament and to be thrown in the mix of teams vying for a spot. According to Gluckman, in order for this to happen, the Pioneers have “to take care of the teams that we should beat. If we do that, then we control our own destiny.”

Boldt described the path to to Conference.

“We need to focus one game at a time and work together as a team,” Boldt said.

Additionally, Gluckman is sticking with what she considers the biggest part of the Pioneer women’s basketball team, which is their defense.

“I think when we play great defense, we create offense; we shut other teams down, and really create momentum,” she said.

The women’s team is looking ahead to games with Norbert and Cornell College. The Norbert game will also be Senior Day, and both are home games, which is an added bonus.

The Pioneer women’s basketball team is next in action this Saturday at Beloit College, followed by a non-conference game at home on Wednesday against Ashford University.