CSR (Calvin women defeat Albion for 18th straight victory)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2004

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Albion-The Calvin College women's basketball team earned an important road
victory Tuesday night against the Albion College Britons. The Knights used a
strong defensive effort in the 2nd half as they won their 18th straight game,
improving to 12-1 in the MIAA, and 20-1 overall. The win was the first for the
Knights at Albion since 2001.

The Britons had the hot hand at the outset of the game as they jumped in front
11-4 in the first five minutes. The Knights were able to settle down
defensively and used an 11-2 run, highlighted by Junior Kristin McDonald's
(West Catholic) clutch shooting. With Freshman center Lisa Winkle (South
Christian) on the bench for most of the first half after gaining two early
fouls, the Britons used a rebounding advantage to finish the half on a 10-2
run, leading at halftime by a score of 27-24. Calvin was led in scoring in the
first half by McDonald, who had 9 points.

The beginning of the 2nd half saw Calvin fall behind by seven points at 33-26,
but the Knights then exploded into a 22-6 advantage over the next eight minutes
that was started by an 8-0 run. The run extended Calvin's lead to 49-39 with
about ten minutes remaining in regulation. The Britons were able to claw back
to within four points, but McDonald was able to connect on a few clutch free
throws to seal the victory. McDonald finished with a game high 26 points.
Winkle returned to have a strong second half, contributing 13 points and four
rebounds.

Katherine Pettinga (GR South Christian) had seven points, seven assists and
five rebounds for Calvin while only committing two turnovers. Andrea Estelle
(Allendale) finished with eight points and Lesa Holleman (Chandler, MN) chipped
in with six points. Lisa Nanninga (GR Christian) led Calvin in rebounding with
seven. Calvin shot 48.1 percent from the floor for the game, including a
blistering 57.7 percent in the 2nd half and was out-rebounded 35-29 by the
Britons.

Calvin coach John Ross credits his team's defense for the strong 2nd half.
"The difference in the 2nd half was our defense," said Ross. "We started
to get more ball pressure and that created some opportunities for us on
offense." Ross is excited to play for the MIAA Championship on Saturday.
"It's a great opportunity. To have a chance to play for a league
championship is something our players are very excited for and we're looking
forward to Saturday's game at Adrian.

Calvin can clinch at least a share of the MIAA season title with a win at
Adrian on Saturday. Calvin is in a tie for first at 12-1 with Hope College,
who visits Albion at Kresge Gym on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to start
at 3 p.m.

MIAA Standings through 2-17-04

Calvin 12-1
Hope 12-1
Albion 9-4
Alma 5-7
Kalamazoo-5-7
Adrian 4-8
Olivet 2-11
St. Mary's 1-11

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Tue Feb 17 22:12:05 2004