CSR (Women's Hoops Holds On Against Olivet/Men's Hoops Falls at Albion)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 14, 2007

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 66, Olivet 62
(Written by Bruce VanBaren ’09)

Calvin escaped with a 66-62 win over the Olivet Comets Wednesday night at the Calvin Field house.

"We didn't play our best game but give Olivet some credit for that," Coach John Ross said. "We missed several easy shots and we shot poorly from the free throw line."

Lacking the defensive intensity they usually have, Calvin nearly dropped its first MIAA game of the season as the Comets' Audrey Graham scored 27 points and Olivet shot 52% from the field.

"I don't think a lot of people gave Olivet the credit they deserve," Coach John Ross said. "Audrey Graham is a great player and Olivet is a very good team."

With the win Calvin advances to 22-1 and 15-0 in the MIAA. MIAA Commissioner David Neilson, was on hand to award the Knights with the regular season MIAA championship, it's first since 2004. The MIAA championship is Calvin's seventh as a school this year.

Calvin jumped to an early 13-6 advantage as Lisa Winkle and Marcia Harris combined for all 13 points. Olivet who ranks third in the MIAA in scoring was able to spread the ball around and never trailed by more than seven points. Seven different players scored in the first half for Olivet as the Comets took a 30-28 lead into halftime. It was the first time Calvin trailed at halftime in a conference game this season.

Olivet shot 61.9% from the field in the first half led by Graham who was a perfect 4 of 4 from the field for 9 points. Kristi Brummel was also a perfect 4 of 4 for Calvin to lead with 9 first half points.

In the second half the game was tied at 30-30 and 36-36 as the teams went back and forth for the first eight minutes of the second half before Graham took over. Graham controlled the game just over the midpoint of the second half as she converted a three point play, hit a jump shot, and then drained a three pointer to put the Comets up by 4 points, their largest lead of the game.

With the game tied for the seventh time at 46-46, Brummel hit back to back three pointers as the Knights appeared to be pulling away leading 52-46 with seven minutes left in the game.

However, Kelsey Gordon answered Brummel's three for the Comets and Jaime Kowalczyk hit back to back lay ups off of a Calvin turnover to put Olivet up 55-54 with 4:33 left in the second half.

For the second straight game Calvin struggled from the free throw line allowing Olivet to stay in the game. They finished with just a 33.3% clip (5-of-15) from the charity stripe.

With under three minutes to play and the Knights leading, Harris and Graham traded baskets. Graham's lay up with 40 seconds remaining cut Calvin's lead to two points at 64-62.

Nikki Zimmerman hit one of two free throws to put Calvin 65-62 with 35 seconds left. Olivet elected to take a timeout and went to Amy Brackenwagen, not Graham, for a three point shot that was well off the mark.

Brummel then hit one of two free throws to seal the victory for the Knights.

"It's nice to see different players step up for us. Brummel hit some key shots and Harris had a couple big rebounds," Ross said. Brummel finished the game with 16 points as she was 3 of 7 from three point range, while Harris tallied 17 points and 5 rebounds, 4 of which were offensive.
        
Lisa Winkle struggled from the field connecting on 8 of 21 shots, but still led the Knights with 18 points and 13 rebounds, her 42nd collegiate double-double. Calvin shot 18.8% from behind the arc and 40.8% from the field. The Knights only scored 19 points off of 24 Olivet turnovers while turning the ball over 12 times themselves.

Even after pulling out the win and receiving the conference trophy, Ross said, "We still have a lot of things we can get a lot better at."

Calvin's conference title is its 11th in women’s basketball, more than any other MIAA member school.

The Knights will travel to Alma on Saturday before kicking off the MIAA tournament at home next Tuesday. Saturday's tip off is scheduled for 3:00p.m. and the game will be broadcasted at www.calvin.edu/sports/ram/calvinsports2.ram

OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY

Tri-State 67, Kalamazoo 46
Hope 63, Alma 48
Saint Mary’s 71, Albion 63 (OT)

MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-14-07 GAMES

Calvin 15-0
Hope 12-3
Saint Mary’s 10-5
Albion 8-7
Olivet 8-7
Alma 6-9
Tri-State 4-12
Adrian 3-12
Kalamazoo 2-13

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Albion 82, Calvin 77

ALBION - Calvin’s four-game win streak came to an end with an 82-77 loss at Albion on Wednesday night.

The loss also dropped the Knights back into a tie for second place in the MIAA standings with Tri-State as both teams are 9-4 in league play. Despite the loss, Calvin has clinched a first round home game and at least a No. 3 seed for next week’s MIAA Tournament, scheduled to open next Wednesday. Calvin and Tri-State both have opportunities to gain the No. 2 seed however with Tri-State hosting Hope and Calvin traveling to Kalamazoo.

In its loss to Albion on Wednesday, Calvin followed a familiar theme, falling behind in the first half before battling back to take the lead. The Knights (14-9 overall) trailed 37-28 late in the first half but used a 9-3 scoring run over the final 1:31 of the half to close to within 40-37 at the break.

Calvin then ripped off an 11-3 run to open the second half with senior Josh Meckes (Bay City) scoring five of Calvin’s points in the run. The run gave the Knights a 48-43 lead but the host Britons (9-14 overall, 7-6 MIAA) responded with a 14-7 run over the next five minutes to take a 57-55 advantage.

Albion continued to maintain the lead until Calvin sophomore Dustin Smith (Hamilton HS) connected on a pair of free throws with 5:02 remaining to give the Knights a 72-70 lead. Smith then swished in a three-pointer from the wing at the 2:18 mark to give Calvin a 75-74 lead but the lead did not last as Albion scored on a layup by Robbie Clark at the two-minute mark and then held the Knights without a field goal the rest of the way.

Albion connected on four free throws inside the final 30 seconds including a pair by senior Zak Silas that lifted the Britons into an 80-77 lead with eight seconds on the clock. Calvin had a chance to tie but a game-tying three-point shot rimmed out in the final seconds. Albion senior Evan Way then sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

Calvin was led in defeat by sophomore Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD) who tallied 20 points while junior Derek Griffin (Whitehall HS) had 16 points and five rebounds. Meckes and Smith added 14 points apiece.

Albion shot 51.7 percent overall however including 55.2 percent in the second half. Silas led the Britons with 23 points including 19 points in the first half. Yancy dropped in 15 points off the bench while Jim Cash chipped in with 11.

Albion’s bench outscored Calvin’s reserves 47-8. Calvin did hold a 39-36 rebound advantage with senior Eric DeVries leading the Knights on the boards with seven caroms.

Calvin’s game at Kalamazoo on Saturday is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.

OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY

Tri-State 70, Adrian 62
Hope 88, Alma 62
Kalamazoo 77, Olivet 69

MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-14-07 GAMES

Hope 12-1
Calvin 9-4
Tri-State 9-4
Adrian 7-6
Albion 7-6
Kalamazoo 3-10
Olivet 3-10
Alma 2-11

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Wed Feb 14 22:47:23 2007