From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Sat Dec 07 2002 - 19:03:29 EST
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2002
MEN'S BASKETBALL
ANGOLA, IN -- After a 34-year wait, Calvin finally gained its first victory over
Tri-State University as the Knights handed the homestanding Thunder a 77-73
defeat Saturday afternoon.
Heading into Saturday's non-conference matchup, Calvin was winless in three
prior tries against Tri-State with its last meeting with the Thunder coming back
in 1968. Saturday's victory at Tri-State marked Calvin's first road win of the
season and allowed the Knights to get over the .500 mark for the first time in a
week as they improved to 4-3 overall.
Calvin received an All-American effort from senior forward Jeremy Veenstra of
Kalamazoo Christian High School who poured in 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting
from the field including 8-of-11 at the free throw line. Veenstra's pair of
free throws with 12 seconds remaining gave Calvin a 75-71 lead. Tri-State junior
Matt Obras responded with a bucket inside seconds later to cut the deficit to
two points but Calvin junior Chris Prins (Escondido, CA) followed with a pair of
clutch free throws with six seconds left to close the door on the Tri-State
comeback bid.
"The free throws by Veenstra and Prins were huge," said Calvin men's basketball
coach Kevin Vande Streek. In order to win games on the road, you need to hit
free throws and we did that today in the second half when we needed it most."
Calvin junior point guard Josh Berghuis of Hudsonville Unity Christian High
School also came up with a clutch play down the stretch as his off-balance
jumper in the lane with time ticking down on the shot clock gave the Knights a
72-67 advantage with 58 seconds left on the game clock.
"That was a big shot by Berghuis," said Vande Streek. "It gave us the kind of
breathing room we needed so that we could win the game at the free throw line."
Vande Streek also had praise for the ball-handling of Berghuis against
Tri-State's full-court pressure defense. "Tri-State kept coming at us with
the pressure and they kept changing their defensive looks which really presented
a challenge. Berghuis was up to the challenge though and the way he handled the
ball against their press was another deciding point of today's game."
Berghuis finished the game with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting along with three
rebounds, three assists, three steals and just one turnover in 30 minutes of
action. Prins and junior guard Kevin Broene (Grand Rapids Christian High
School) joined Veenstra and Berghuis in double-figures in scoring as Prins had
21 points and six rebounds while Broene had 11 points and five rebounds.
Calvin junior center Ryan Smalligan (East Grand Rapids High School) was also
strong for the Knights with three points, four rebounds and a career-high five
blocked shots.
"Smalligan was a big factor defensively for us today," said Vande Streek. "His
confidence is growing and he is getting better in each game that he plays."
Tri-State was led in scoring by Marqus Husband who pumped in 24 points including
three trifectas while Obras had 12 points. Micah Williams and Brandon Appleton
chipped in with 10 points apiece for the Thunder (3-6 overall).
Calvin held a 35-32 rebounding advantage and connected on 15-of-23 attempts
(.652) at the free throw line including 10-of-14 (.714) in the second half.
Tri-State connected on just 5-of-13 free throw attempts (.385) including an
0-for-5 performance in the first half.
Calvin led 41-38 at halftime and held a lead throughout the second half but
never leading by more than seven points. Tri-State closed to within a point at
54-53 on a three-pointer by Husband with 10:21 remaining. Tri-State would never
take the lead however as Smalligan and Prins answered with back-to-back buckets
to put the Knights up 58-53. Tri-State would then close to within two points on
two later occasions but would not tie or take the lead.
The clutch basket by Berghuis in the final minute of play came after Prins had
given Calvin a 70-67 lead on a free throw with 3:16 remaining.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it faces Grace Bible College at
Allendale High School. Wednesday's game will begin at 7:30 p.m. The contest
was originally scheduled for Thursday, December 12 but has been moved to
Wednesday, December 11. The contest will serve as a home game for Grace Bible
College.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
What a difference one night can make. After suffering through one of its worst
performances in recent memory in a 52-45 loss to Tri-State Friday night, Calvin
rebounded with one of its best performances on Saturday afternoon as the Knights
handed nationally-ranked Case Western Reserve University a 74-65 defeat in the
consolation game of the Calvin Tournament.
Ranked 17th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, Case Western Reserve from suburban
Cleveland found itself trailing 36-26 at halftime as Calvin (5-2 overall) used a
9-3 run over the final 1:25 of the first half with sophomore guards Rita Ouwinga
(McBain Christian High School) and Kristin McDonald (West Catholic High School)
connecting on three-point shots in the Calvin run.
Case Western Reserve (4-3) then shook the dust off its offensive attack over the
first 10 minutes of the second half, outscoring Calvin 27-13 to take a 51-49
lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.
The Spartans then took a 57-51 lead on a jumper from point guard Keesha Allen
with 5:58 remaining but Kristin McDonald responded with a critical three-pointer
to bring the Knights within three at 57-54 with 5:45 left on the clock. After
Case Western Reserve went up 59-54, Calvin answered with a layup by freshman
Linda Heilman (South Christian HS) and a three-point play by junior center
Andrea MacDonald (Allendale HS) that tied the game up 59-59 with 4:15 remaining.
Having connected on just one of her previous eight field goal attempts in the
game after shooting one-for-eight in Calvin's loss to Tri-State the night
before, Calvin senior forward Emily Beard (Southfield Christian High School)
then took over the game, nailing three consecutive jump shots in the lane with
defenders in her face. The six-point spurt from Beard allowed Calvin to take a
65-59 lead and control of the game as the Spartans would get no closer than four
points the rest of the way. Junior guard Kim Wolthuis (South Christian High
School) provided the capping play for the Knights as she blocked a Spartan field
goal attempt, grabbed the rebound and fed senior teammate Tricia Dyk (Western
Michigan Christian High School) with 1:23 left.
Kristin McDonald added three free throws in the final 1:04 to put the contest on
ice and build her scoring total to a career-high 22 points. For her efforts,
McDonald was named to her second consecutive all-tournament team after having
earned a spot on the Calvin Thanksgiving Tournament team the week before.
McDonald was one of four Calvin players to reach double-figures in scoring as
Ouwinga delivered 13 points off the bench while Beard had 11 points and 13
rebounds and Wolthuis 10 points. With her 11-point, 13-rebound effort, Beard
notched the 10th double-double performance of her career.
Case Western Reserve was led by Jasmine Rowan who pumped in 19 points and
grabbed seven rebounds while Angie Zeuch added 11 points and five boards.
Calvin outrebounded Case Western Reserve 46-45 and shot 45.3 percent overall
including 60.9 percent in the second half. In Friday's loss to Tri-State,
Calvin shot just 31.0 percent from the field including just 24.1 percent in the
first half.
The Knights also performed well at the free throw line, hitting 21-of-30
attempts for a 70 percent clip while the Spartans were 11-of-17 (.647) at the
charity stripe. Case Western Reserve's total of 65 points was its third lowest
of the season. A week ago, the Spartans had handed nationally-ranked Wilmington
(OH) a 105-91 defeat in a game played at Wilmington. On Friday night, Case
Western Reserve was upset by Wittenberg 69-55 in the first round of the Calvin
Tournament.
In Saturday's championship game, Tri-State (4-6) held off Wittenberg (3-3) 72-64
behind 21 points from tournament MVP Ann Miller. Miller was joined on the
all-tournament team by teammate Krista Brockway, Kristin McDonald, Zeuch and
Haley Warden and Kate Rolf of Wittenberg.
Calvin returns to action next Wednesday when it hosts Aquinas at 7:30 p.m. at
the Calvin Fieldhouse.
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