CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 4, 2009
Women's Basketball Finishes Strong to Defeat Albion;
Men's Basketball Takes Sole Possesion of First Place in MIAA Standings With
Win at Alma
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 76, Albion 68
By Chaz Amidon
GRAND RAPIDS – Calvin needed a change.
Trailing 33-32 at the half, coach John Ross opted to sit Kristi Brummel and
use her as a substitute, a role that the senior sharpshooter reprised from
earlier in her collegiate career.
Turns out, being benched can be a good thing sometimes.
Brummel uncorked a barrage of four consecutive 3-pointers just minutes into
the second half, keying an 18-3 Calvin run that buoyed the Knights in their
76-68 win over Albion.
“That’s Brum for you,” said Brook Van Eck. “She’ll just come out
there and hit shots. She is just a great 3-point shooter and whenever we need
it she’s there to put those in. It’s really nice to have that.”
Brummel, who recorded 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the outside, was aided
by a 26-point performance from Van Eck and a career-high 17 points from
freshman Courtney Kurncz.
Van Eck and Kurncz combined to shoot 25-of-27 from the free throw line
throughout, anchoring a Calvin team that narrowly avoided a third straight loss
– and a third straight overtime game.
“Those last two losses were really hard on us and we knew that Albion was a
team that we could beat,” said Brummel. “We ended up winning in regulation
was awesome. It felt really good.”
Brummel’s torrent from the perimeter gave Calvin a 50-36 lead with 14:45
remaining, but it was followed by a nine-minute drought where the Britons
conjured a 20-4 run. Albion’s Melissa Shaw, who averaged just 4.8
points-per-game coming in, scored 12 straight points and went 6-of-6 from the
line during that stretch.
A pair of Kurncz free throws knotted the score at 60-60 with 3:44 left, then
Van Eck tallied ten consecutive points – which included six free throws –
to give the Knights a 70-65 lead with under a minute to play.
Kurncz knocked down three of her next four attempts from the charity stripe,
and with eight seconds left, Brummel drained two free throws to cement the win.
“These kids come in and work hard every day,” said Ross. “Hopefully we
can get back to where Calvin basketball belongs.”
Four days after totaling a career-high 30 points in a loss 72-68 loss to Alma,
Van Eck poured in 18 of her game-high 26 points in the second half. She is
Calvin’s active leading scorer with 12.1 points-per-game, and has averaged
22.7 points in the Knights’ past three contests.
“I’ve really focused on my moves and getting myself stronger in the post,
establishing myself as more of an offensive threat since (Marcia Harris) has
been gone,” said Van Eck. “It’s been hard, but it’s been
worthwhile.”
Kurncz added team-highs with six rebounds and four assists. A 74 percent free
throw shooter, she went 11-of-12 from the line and failed to convert on her
12th and final attempt with 13 seconds remaining.
She is currently fifth on the team in scoring (5.6 points) and second in
rebounding (5.1).
“That kid is going to be a phenomenal player and it was great to see her big
game,” said Ross. “Courtney Kurncz, if she keeps rolling, is going to be
one of the better players in the league. Sometimes she’s too nice and
doesn’t have a mean streak.”
The Knights committed only six turnovers in the second half and used all four
of Brummel’s long balls to go 4-of-7 from downtown after the break. They shot
a combined 2-of-10 from 3-point range in the first half, which was capped by a
buzzer-beating bomb by Jill Thomas.
Calvin will now travel to Adrian on Feb. 7 to take on Adrian, a team that the
Knights defeated 72-66 in an overtime thriller back on Jan. 17 at Van Noord
Arena. Game time is 3:00 p.m.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES FOR 2-4-09
Trine 62, Adrian 59
Saint Mary's 86, Olivet 54
Alma 61, Kalamazoo 51
Hope 73, Rochester 42 (non-conference)
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-4-09
Hope 10-1
Saint Mary's 10-2
Trine 7-5
Adrian 6-5
Calvin 6-6
Alma 5-6
Albion 5-7
Olivet 3-8
Kalamazoo 0-12
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 66, Alma 55
ALMA -- The Calvin men's basketball fought off an upset bid from the Alma
Scots Wednesday night inside the Cappaert Gymnasium to move into sole
possession of first place in the MIAA standings.
Calvin (13-6 overall) came from behind to defeat Alma 66-55 to improve to 8-1
in the MIAA, one game ahead of second place Hope which dropped to 7-2 in league
play with a 70-68 loss at Albion on Wednesday.
Using a deliberate tempo by running the shot clock down to 10 seconds on each
possession, Alma jumped out to a 19-9 lead midway through the first half.
Calvin used a 13-6 run over the final five-and-a-half minutes of the first half
to tie the game at 27-27. The Calvin run was capped off by a layup by sophomore
Danny Rodts (Niles HS) with 15 seconds left in the half.
Calvin then slowly built a second half lead, taking a 45-38 lead on a jumper
by senior Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD) at the 8:21 mark. Alma (5-14
overall, 3-6 MIAA) came back to cut the cap to four at 52-48 with 3:58
remaining but the Knights responded with a pair of free throws by senior Tim
Katt (Brookfield, WI) to go back up by six. Calvin then went 8-for-8 at the
free throw line in the final 2:35 of regulation to seal the win.
"Playing at Alma's (slower) tempo was frustrating but I give them credit for
dictating the pace and controlling the game," said Calvin men's basketball
coach Kevin Vande Streek. "I think what was very important was that we finished
the first half and tied the game at halftime. From a momentum standpoint, that
was huge."
Calvin was led in scoring by Veldhouse and Rodts with 13 points apiece while
junior center John Mantel (Chelsea HS) had 12 points and nine rebounds. Senior
Dustin Smith (Hamilton HS) chipped in with nine points and five rebounds.
Calvin also received seven points and seven rebounds from senior Tyler Zoerhof
(Holland Christian HS) with Zoerhof ripping down several key rebounds down the
stretch. "This game got very physical in the second half but Tyler did not back
down and came down with some big rebounds. He showed great senior leadership
tonight."
Alma was led in defeat by Cory Schneider with 16 points.
Calvin held a 35-28 reboundin advantage and was 7-of-15 (.467) from
three-point range The Knights were also 19-of-25 (.760) at the free throw line,
outscoring the Scots by 12 points at the charity stripe.
Calvin returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Adrian at 3:00 p.m. at the
Van Noord Arena.
OTHER MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY
Kalamazoo 74, Adrian 68 (OT)
Albion 70, Hope 68
Olivet 73, Trine 51
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-4-09
Calvin 8-1
Hope 7-2
Albion 6-3
Olivet 5-4
Kalamazoo 3-6
Adrian 3-6
Alma 3-6
Trine 1-8
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu Feb 5 00:29:31 2009
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