CSR (W. Basketball bounced from MIAA Tourney)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2004

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

The winning streak is over, and the Calvin women's basketball team will have to wait until Sunday to find out whether they will take part in the NCAA Division III Tournament next week after Albion upended the Knights 49-45. The streak lasted twenty-one games, but the Albion College Britons, fresh off an upset win at Hope, pulled out a barn-burner at the Fieldhouse in front of nearly a thousand fans.

With an automatic qualifier (AQ) to the DIII tournament on the line, both teams came out nervous and overaggressive, leading to a number of turnovers and missed buckets in the early going. Over the first 8 ½ minutes the Britons were just 2-of-10 from the field, while the Knights connected on 2-of-12 in that span and scored just six points in the first 10 ½ minutes.

Down 12-6 with ten to go, the Knights used a twelve to four run to take a slim two point advantage into the break. Junior Lesa Holleman (Chandler, MN) was key in the run, knocking down three big jumpers from the baseline. High-intensity defense on both sides led to 21 first-half turnovers, with Calvin handing the ball over ten times and Albion giving the ball up 11 times.

In the second half, neither team could hang on to the lead, as the game was knotted seven times and the lead changed hands seven times during the last 20 minutes. A huge three pointer by junior Katherine Pettinga (South Christian HS) with sixteen left gave the Knights a 24-20 lead and the momentum. It was the first made three of the game for Calvin. That momentum was short lived, though, as Albion's Angie Spain drilled a three of her own the next trip down the court to pull the Britons within one. Junior Lisa Nanninga (Grand Rapids Christian HS) made one of two from the line to extend the lead to two, but Albion battled back with a 7-0 run, including an off-balance buzzer-beating three-pointer by Jaime Fornetti. Calvin then ripped a 6-0 run of its own to take a 31-30 lead with 11 ½ left.

Each team exchanged leads of no larger than two over the next six until Nanninga connected on another free-throw to put build a 42-39 lead with just under six to go.
The Knights looked to be in good shape heading into the final two minutes with a 45-42 advantage, but Vanessa Thompson took over the game from that point. The junior came off the bench and drilled a three with a hand in her face to tie things up and then came back with a fast break lay-up after a Calvin turnover to give the Britons a 47-45 lead with just over a minute to go. After a missed shot by the Knights, they received another chance to tie or win when Albion was whistled for a travel with 15 seconds left. They could not find an open look, and the Briton defense stole a Calvin pass with 3 seconds left. Sarah Caskey was fouled and calmly knocked down both her free-throws to seal the game.

After a dismal 31% (9-29) showing from the floor in the first half, the Knights stepped it up and connected on 11-25 (44%) in the second to end the game at 37%. Albion mustered only 21% (6-28) in the opening period, but came back and hit 12-25 (48%) in the second to close the game at 34%.

The Achilles heel all day long for the Knights was their inability to hit free throws. They were just 4-14 (29%) from the charity strip on the afternoon, and missed three crucial front-ends of one-and-one attempts.

Leading all scorers was freshman Lisa Winkle (South Christian HS) with 16. She also grabbed seven boards and swatted five shots. No other Knights were able to break into double-digits, but Holleman collected eight points to go along with four assists.

Three players went for double-digits on Albion's side. Angie Spain netted 12 points and collected seven boards, while Sarah Caskey contributed with 11 and Thompson came up with 10 huge points.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Feb 28 17:51:44 2004