CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR JAN. 27, 2007 (Part One)
Women's Basketball Knocks Off Bulldogs/Men's Hoops Falls at Tri-State)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 67, Adrian 46
(Written by Drew DeVries ’08)
GRAND RAPIDS - The Knights entered Saturday's contest against Adrian ranked 7th in the latest D3hoops.com poll and 4th in the ESPN/USA Today Division III Top-25 poll. Calvin was also looking for its 10th straight conference win to remain undefeated in league play which it got with a 67-46 victory.
Lisa Winkle (Grand Rapids/South Christian) started off the scoring for the Knights putting the first six points up on the board. In doing so, Winkle became the first player in Calvin women's basketball history to surpass the 1500 point plateau. Along with Winkle, sophomore Marcia Harris (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) took part in the bulk of Calvin scoring early on combining with Winkle for 20 of the 22 points scored by Calvin. It was part of a 12-4 Calvin run that put the Knights up 22-11 with just under ten minutes to go.
But Adrian was able to hang on much like it did in the first half the last time these two teams met. Calvin's lead hovered around ten but the Bulldogs might have cut into that lead a little more had they been able to hit their free throws. Adrian shot 1-7 from behind the line in the first half.
After Adrian got within eight, Kristi Brummel (Byron Center/South Christian) connected on a triple en route to Calvin closing the half scoring five straight points for a 33-20 lead.
Like the first meeting between Adrian and Calvin this season, Calvin once again started pulling away in the second half behind a 12-4 run which included a near seven-minute scoring drought from the Bulldogs. The Knights were able to get great looks resulting in easy buckets due to crisp passing. Calvin led by as many as 30 in the second half and eventually won by 21.
Winkle led all scorers with 24 and posted her 39th career double-double with 11 rebounds. Harris was Calvin's next highest scorer with 12.
For Adrian, Kim Olech and Elysia Norris led Bulldog scorers each collecting 9 points.
The Knights also received great play from sophomore Sarah Partridge coming off the bench as she scored 8 points. "Sarah had a great game," said Calvin head coach John Ross. "She had a big fan base here and it's great to see who do well since she is such a hard worker."
Ross also had praise for the great defense he saw from his team. "We did a really good job defensively. Holding them to six points early on in the second half causing their drought helped us pull away. That drought was key since Adrian is as physical of a team that we've faced so far."
With the win, Calvin (17-1 overall, 10-0 MIAA) remains in first place in front of Hope by a game-and-a-half. The Knights will next travel to Albion on Wednesday evening for a game slated to begin at 6:00pm.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Saint Mary’s 83, Tri-State 66
Hope 101, Kalamazoo 53
Albion 68, Alma 55
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-27-07
Calvin 10-0
Hope 9-2
Saint Mary’s 7-4
Olivet 6-4
Albion 6-5
Alma 3-7
Adrian 3-8
Kalamazoo 2-9
Tri-State 2-9
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Tri-State 68, Calvin 58
(written by Bruce VanBaren '09)
Angola, IN- Calvin fell out of second place in the MIAA standings on Saturday afternoon, falling to Tri-State 68-58. The Thunder (12-7 overall, 6-2 MIAA) snapped their seven-game losing streak against the Knights as well as Calvin’s three-game winning streak. The Knights winning streak had been tied for their longest of the season.
Unsure of where to look after a disappointing loss, Coach Kevin Vande Streek said, “We have a bunch of great guys, but I’m not sure we’re real passionate right now. After taking Thursday off and a nice talk on Friday, I thought we would have come out a lot better today.”
But the Knights did not as the starters shot 15 of 43 and the team shot 23 of 63 for 36.5% and 5 of 19 from three point range. The Knights traded the lead with Tri-State most of the game and led at halftime, but they didn’t have an answer for the Thunder’s Tony Benford and Maurice Brookins.
Benford shot 8 of 17 including 5 of 11 from three point range to lead Tri-State with 24 points. Brookins added 15 points including three three point field goals. Tri-State, who played four guards and one post player, shot 45.6% from the field and hit 9 of 30 three pointers.
Instead of attacking inside with their bigger post players, the Knights looked to answer with outside shooting. Vande Streek said, “We seemed to not want to get it [into the post] and they outplayed us physically even when we did get it in [the post].”
After a slow start by both teams in the first half, Tri-State went on an 8-0 run topped by a Maurice Brookins three pointer to double up Calvin 14-7. As the Knights continued to struggle from the field, Tri-State continued to pull away. The Thunder led by as many as 11 with 8:11 left in the first half, but Calvin came storming back on an 18-6 to take a 30-29 lead at the half.
Josh Meckes led the Knights with two timely three pointers in the first half, while Todd Koetsier and Micah Chappel who have both seen increased playing time each put up four points off the bench.
The Knights kept the game close for most of the second half, trading leads up until 11 minutes left. But with 11:11 left in the game, Benford hit a three pointer and the Thunder never trailed again. In the final minutes, Benford would answer every time Calvin tried to spark a comeback.
With Adrian beating Albion 71-64, Adrian and Tri-State remain tied for second place behind Hope with 6-2 conference records, while the Knights drop to fourth place with a 5-3 conference record and fall to 10-8 overall.
Vande Streek who said both him and his team are lacking passion and toughness continued saying, “It’s disappointing to see us not playing as hard as we are capable of, but hopefully we will find it soon.”
Calvin will look to start another winning streak with a two game home stand vs. Alma on Wednesday and Adrian on Saturday. Both games will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Jan 27 18:22:37 2007
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