CSR (Women's Basketball Defeats Aquinas Behind Second Half Comeback)

From: Jeffrey Febus <jfebus@calvin.edu>
Date: Tue Nov 21 2006 - 22:27:02 EST

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 21, 2006

Women’s Basketball Defeats Aquinas Behind Second Half Comeback

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 70, Aquinas 58

Tuesday’s non-conference meeting between cross-town rivals Aquinas and Calvin was strange to be sure. But the end result for Calvin was also very satisfying.

Despite not scoring a single point in the opening 10 minutes Tuesday night, Calvin (3-0) came back for a 70-58 victory over Aquinas in a meeting of nationally-ranked teams. The victory was Calvin’s 10 in its last 13 meetings against Aquinas (4-3) which came into the game ranked 14th in the latest NAIA Division II poll. Calvin entered the game ranked 13th in the latest D3hoops.com Top-25 and holding a two-game win streak.

For the opening 10 minutes however, it appeared that Calvin’s unbeaten record would quickly come to an end as the Knights went scoreless, misfiring on their first 11 field goal attempts while also committing eight turnovers, allowing the Saints to build an 11-0 lead.

After Aquinas took an 18-6 advantage, Calvin clawed its way back into the game, outscoring the Saints 13-2 over the final seven minutes of the half. The Calvin run was capped off by a three-pointer by junior Lindsey Peuler with 22 seconds remaining which allowed the Knights to trail by just three at 22-19 heading into intermission.

The outlook appeared dim for Calvin early in the second half however as senior center Lisa Winkle was whistled for her third and fourth fouls, sending her to the bench. In Winkle’s absence, Aquinas built a 41-30 lead on the strength of an 11-2 run.

A group of Calvin reserves then dug in and brought the Knights back into the game. Freshman Brook VanEck ignited the run with a scrappy rebound and putback that cut the deficit to single digits. Freshman guard Allison Griswold then delivered back-to-back three-pointers off the bench to cut the gap to five. A layup by sophomore forward Marcia Harris and another triple, this one from sophomore wing Kristi Brummel, tied the game at 43 with 9:32 left on the clock. Aquinas was able to take a 45-43 lead on a basket inside by Joslyn Narber but Harris answered with a power move of her own to tie the game at 45.

Sophomore Kelly Trewhella then delivered a three-ball from the left wing that gave Calvin its first lead of the game at 48-45 with 7:39 remaining. Calvin never trailed again, outscoring the Saints 22-11 over the final six-and-a-half minutes to seal the win.

Narber led all scorers with 20 points while also garbing six boards and collecting three steals. A first team NAIA All-American a year ago, Braspenninx scored 11 points for the Saints but only two over the final 10 minutes as Calvin junior Rachael Willett came off the bench to provide strong defensive play inside. Claire Hogan also had 11 for Aquinas which shot just 30.3 percent overall including just 26.9 percent in the first half.

Calvin featured a balanced scoring attack led by Harris who tallied 14 points. Winkle had 13 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots despite playing only 19 minutes because of foul trouble. Trewhella also had 10 points and three assists while Brummel and Willett had eight points apiece. Willett also had 10 big rebounds, all on the defensive side while also blocking three shots. Griswold chipped in with seven points and a pair of steals.

Calvin shot 44.0 percent in the first half * just 30.4 percent in the first 20 minutes but 55.6 percent in the second half. The Knights also held a 42-39 rebounding edge. Calvin also shot 50 percent (7 of 14) from three-point range and 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the free throw line.

Calvin will now break until Friday, December 1, when it faces nationally-ranked Wheaton (IL) in the first round of the CCIW/MIAA Classic. Wheaton will host the two-day tournament with Carthage and Hope meeting in the initial first round game. Calvin will then meet Carthage on December 2 with Wheaton and Hope squaring off in the other second round game that day.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Tue Nov 21 22:29:30 2006

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