CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 19, 2002
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
ALBION - A surging Albion women's basketball team ended Calvin's MIAA Tournament
run Tuesday night as the host Britons handed Calvin a 64-54 defeat Tuesday night
at Kresge Gymnasium. Riding a three-game win streak, Albion (17-8) advances to
the MIAA Tournament semifinals for the first time since 1994 and will meet Hope
at the Dow Center at 7:30 pm.
Calvin (12-13) battled to within four points on three occasions in the second
half Tuesday night but could never get over the hump. The Knights jumped out
to a 5-2 lead in the opening minute of play but the Britons then ran off nine
unanswered points to take an 11-5 lead and would never trail again. Calvin
trailed by just three points at 21-18 with five minutes left in the first half
but the Britons outscored the Knights 7-2 to end the half to take a 28-20 lead
at the break.
The Britons then stretched their lead to 12 points at 36-24 early in the second
half before the Knights rallied with eight unanswered points capped off by a
layup by senior Tara Bergsma (Calvin Christian) with 11:10 to pull the Knights
within 36-32. After falling behind 42-34, Calvin again closed to within four
points at 44-40 with junior Tricia Dyk (Western Michigan Christian) converting a
layup with 7:11 to close out the spurt.
The Britons were then able to build a 49-40 lead with 5:57 left. Freshman
Kristen McDonald (West Catholic) then stepped up and knocked down a pair of
triples inside the final two minutes to pull the Knights to within six at 57-51
with 1:17 left on the clock. Calvin then closed to within five at 59-54 on a
three-pointer by Dyk with 47 seconds remaining but would get no closer as Albion
converted five of six free throw attempts inside the final 35 seconds of play to
close out the win.
Albion was paced by a balanced scoring attack as four Britons notched
double-digits in scoring with junior guard Becky Campbell (Ionia) tossing in a
game-high 16 points including nine points in the second half. Campbell was
5-of-9 from the floor including 2-of-4 from three-point range and 4-of-4 at the
free throw line. Senior Megan Madej also had a double-double effort for Albion
as she tallied 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while senior Amanda Yeager and
freshman Sarah Caskey chipped in with 13 points apiece.
Calvin was led in scoring by Dyk who tossed in 14 points including 12 in the
second half while also collecting four assists and three steals. McDonald was
also in double-figures for the Knights as she popped in 13 points off the bench
including four three-point field goals. Junior Emily Beard (Southfield
Christian) added eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Albion shot 46 percent overall while holding Calvin to 33.8 percent field goal
shooting, marking the fourth straight game that Albion has held an opponent
under 35 percent field goal shooting. The Britons also held a commanding 46-33
rebounding edge including 26-13 in the second half.
"I thought a big key to the game was Albion's rebounding and some of the shots
that Campbell had in the second half ," said Calvin women's basketball coach Kim
Gall. "Albion really controlled the boards and limited our second chance
opportunities and Campbell came up with some timely baskets when we were making
some second half runs."
Calvin's loss to Albion Tuesday night marked its first-ever loss in the first
round of the MIAA Tournament while the Britons reached the 17-win plateau for
the first time since 1983. Tuesday night's victory was Albion's second in three
tries over Calvin as the Britons defeated Calvin at Kresge 68-57 on January 15
and then fell to the Knights at Calvin just over a week ago 48-45.
OTHER MIAA TOURNAMENT SCORES TUESDAY NIGHT
Kalamazoo 69, Alma 57
Adrian 62, St. Mary's 54
Hope 75, Olivet 41
MIAA TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21
Adrian (17-9) at Kalamazoo (20-6)
Albion (17-8) at Hope (24-2)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Feb 20 2002 - 00:16:01 EST