REPORT FOR Friday, November 17, 2000
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
MILWAUKEE, WIS.---- A strong second-half defensive effort gave the
Calvin College women's basketball team their first victory in the team's
season opener on Friday. The Knights defeated Clarke College of Dubuque,
Iowa, 55-48 in the Wisconsin Lutheran Tip-Off Tournament in Milwaukee,
Wis.
It was a slow start to the season for both the Calvin College and
Clarke College women's basketball teams as the teams combined for just
15 points midway through the first half of play.
It provided a good opportunity however for Calvin Coach Kim Gall to
get a good look at her new young team. With no seniors on team and last
year's scoring leaders Mindi Andringa and Robyn Fennema lost to
graduation, Calvin's leadership had to come from the underclassmen.
Sophomore Jennifer Plakmeyer (Calvin Christian) came through with a
strong performance for the Knights tallying 17 points and adding 5
rebounds.
"She's a great leader," said Coach Kim Gall. "She came off the bench
last year and played a lot of minutes for us. She's smart and she knows
the game."
Junior Tara Bergsma (Calvin Christian) also came up with a strong
performance off the bench with a career-high 16 points and seven
rebounds for the Knights.
"We just switched the rotation about a week ago moving Tara from the
three spot to the four spot about a week ago," said Gall. "That was our
ace in the hole for the game today."
The game started slow with both teams missing scoring opportunities
early on. Clarke scored the opening basket with Calvin scoring the next
five points
The teams battled back and forth before the Crusaders rallied to a 28-22
lead at the half.
Clarke matched their biggest lead of the game with the Crusaders' Rhonda
Schmidt taking the ball straight to the hoop on the opening possession..
The Knights then picked up their defensive effort on the floor.
"We thought we could put some pressure on them and get some turnovers,"
said Gall. "That's what we were able to do in the second half."
With the pressure on, Calvin was able to take a 46-43 on a two-pointer
by Emily Beard (Southfield Christian) and would never trail again.
Plakmeyer made it 49-43 on a three-point shot and was able to add three
more from the free throw line down the stretch.
"We were getting some decent looks in the first half; we just weren't
making the shots," said Gall. "Obviously with only 22 points though we
had some first half jitters. We have such a young team with eight brand
new faces that's about what I expecting in the first half. I'll take a
win like that in the first game with such a young team any day though."
The Crusaders were led by Jenny Middendorf with 10 points and and six
rebounds and Megan Koppengoefer with eight points.
The Knights will play the winner of the Iowa Wesleyan and Wisconsin
Lutheran in the tournament final on Saturday.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
MILWAUKEE,WIS.-----The defending NCAA Division III national champions
looked the part Friday night as the Calvin College Knights rolled to an
85-53 victory over Clarke College of Dubuque, Iowa, in their season
opener at the Wisconsin Lutheran Tip-Off Tournament in Milwaukee, Wis.
"I was scared to death coming into this game," said Calvin Coach Kevin
VandeStreek. "There were times over the last few weeks that I was really
wondering what was going to happen. I think what happened here tonight
was that we were outstanding defensively. This was the best defensive
effort I've seen from any team I've had in the first game of the year."
The Knights took the ball away from the Crusaders 32 times in the game
to only 12 turnovers of their own.
Calvin trailed early in the game 4-0 and again at 7-4 but would claim
the lead on a jumper by sophomore Bryan Foltice (Tri-Unity Christian)
who was fouled on the shot and hit the free throw as well to make the
score 10-7.
The Knights then slowly pulled away from the Crusaders leading 45-28 at
the half on a three-point shot by sophomore Jeremy Veenstra (Kalamazoo
Christian) at the buzzer.
The Knights played tough defensively throughout the game making it
difficult for the Crusaders to get the ball inside.
Veenstra alone strung together three steals near the start of the
second half to boost the Knight squad.
A balanced performance marked the Knights play with three players in
double digits for the Knights.
Foltice led the Knights with 18 points while Veenstra added 16 and
senior Brian Krosschell (Grand Rapids Christian) added 10 more.
"The leaders did what we expected them to do," said VandeStreek. "The
returners from last year have to get it done, particularly early in the
year."
The returning players were helped by the addition of senior Nate
Burgess (South Christian) to the starting line-up this year and freshman
Chris Prins (Escondido, CA).
Prins put in a good first -game performance with nine points.
"He contributed some points but I was even more pleased with his
defensive performance," said VandeStreek. "He is the best freshman
defender I think I've ever had."
Another outstanding freshman performance came from Rob Holleman
(Chandler, MN) who tossed in eight points.
"We have a very nice freshman class," said VandeStreek. "I'm impressed
with the way Rob and Chris compete and want to battle it out. They're
willing to do whatever is asked of them. Actually we're deep all the way
through. We have a very nice bench."
The Crusaders offense was centered around Jay Harris who led all
scorers with 28.
The Knights will take on the winner of the Wisconsin Lutheran and
Goshen College game in the tournament final on Saturday.
-end-
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Nov 17 2000 - 20:03:54 EST