CSR (Women's Basketball Falls In Thriller To Hope/Men's BBall Upset By Kalamazoo)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 21 (Part Two), 2009

Women's Basketball Falls In Homecoming Thriller to Hope;
Men's Basketball Upset By Kalamazoo

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Hope 68, Calvin 65

By Chaz Amidon

GRAND RAPIDS – Calvin’s regular season finale against No. 2 Hope ended in
a loss for the surging Knights, but, considering the circumstances, it wasn’t
a completely deflating homecoming game for coach John Ross’s squad.

A mesmerizing second-half comeback fell just short and the Knights (15-9, 9-7)
nearly upset the first-place Dutch, dropping a 68-65 decision in front of a
crowd of 3,175 at the Van Noord Arena.

Sarah Partridge’s game-tying 3-point attempt sailed over the rim as time
expired as Calvin lost its fifth straight to its archrival, dating back to Feb.
24, 2007.

“We gave it everything we had,” said Calvin women’s basketball coach
John Ross. “I can’t fault the effort of my players one bit. I’ve got
great kids on this team and they played with a lot of heart, particularly our
seniors. It hurts to lose but I’m proud of this team and we’re looking
forward to the MIAA Tournament.”

The Dutch (22-1, 15-1) drubbed Calvin 73-49 back on Jan. 14 at the DeVos
Fieldhouse in Holland, a contest where the Knights committed a season-worst 32
turnovers and received only eight combined points from their starting lineup.

This time, Calvin orchestrated a 28-10 run to take the lead with three minutes
remaining, but Hope’s Jenny Cowen nailed a 3-pointer and sunk two free throws
in the final 46 seconds to give the Dutch their 14th consecutive victory.

Senior center, Marcia Harris recorded a team-high 14 points on 7-of-15
shooting, Kristi Brummel added 13 points and Brook Van Eck chipped in 12 as the
Knights outrebounded Hope 31-17 in the second half and forced nine turnovers
down the stretch.

Amber Benthem drained a pair of 3s during Calvin’s electrifying comeback,
which was punctuated by an Emily Ottenhoff long ball that gave the Knights a
61-58 lead with 3:14 left in regulation – their first since leading 6-5 less
than five minutes into the game.

“It all started with our defense,” Brummel said of the comeback.
“We’ve been working on our press a lot and we started to get some
steals, some deflections, and I think Hope was starting to get flustered. That
sparked our offense – we hit some 3s, we got to the line and it all just kind
of worked together.”

Calvin had a 63-62 advantage after two Brummel free throws but was whistled
for a shot clock violation with 58 seconds left, giving way to Cowen’s
lead-changing 3 just 12 seconds later.

Cowen, who scored 20 points against the Knights on Jan. 14, dialed in four
3-pointers en route to totaling a game-high 26 points while hauling in nine
rebounds. Carrie Snikkers poured in 13 points and Courtney Knox added 10.

“We played our hearts out out there,” said Brummel. “The last game, it
wasn’t even close. We just came out there, we knew it was going to be a
battle and an emotional game.”

Calvin’s three freshmen – Courtney Kurncz, Leah Mattson and Jill Thomas
– combined to surrender only five turnovers against Hope’s league-best
defense, which is limiting opponents to 32.9 percent from the floor in
conference action.

“The freshmen and the non-seniors really needed this game to know, ‘Hey,
we’re going to be okay next year,’” said Harris. “You can’t ask for
better things from them. They all stepped up and played well.”

The Knights’ five-game win streak was snapped, matching their longest
stretch of the season. They started the year 5-0 before falling to No. 7 Thomas
More on Nov. 29.

Calvin is now 5-3 in games at the Van Noord Arena, but will have a chance to
improve that record when it hosts a first round contest in the MIAA Tournament
on Tuesday. The Knights will face off against sixth-place Alma (9-15, 7-9), a
team that swept the regular season series from the Knights in a pair of
overtime wins. Both wins were by four points.

NOTES: Calvin still leads the all-time series with Hope, 61-34…Since 2000,
Hope holds a 19-5 series advantage…Ross is now 4-11 against the Dutch, while
Hope coach Brian Morehouse is 21-12 against Calvin…The Knights have shot 77
percent or better from the free throw line in six of their last seven games
(5-2 during that stretch)…Hope was coming off back-to-back 100-point games
before scoring 68 against Calvin, while shooting just 35 percent from the
floor.

*MIAA TOURNAMENT TICKET INFORMATION: Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7:30pm - doors open
at 6:30pm.
General Admission tickets for Tuesday’s game will be on sale at the Box
Office on Monday, February 23 from 12:00pm - 5:00pm and Tuesday, February 24
from 9:00am until 5:00pm. Tickets will also be sold at the Arena starting at
6:30pm on Tuesday.

FINAL MIAA REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

Hope 15-1
Saint Mary’s 13-3
Calvin 9-7
Trine 9-7
Albion 9-7
Alma 7-9
Adrian 7-9
Olivet 3-13
Kalamazoo 0-16

MIAA TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS FOR FEB. 24 FIRST ROUND GAMES

#8 Olivet (7-18) at #1 Hope (22-1)
#7 Adrian (14-10) at #7 Saint Mary’s (15-9)
#6 Alma (9-15) at #3 Calvin (15-9)
#5 Albion (14-10) at #4 Trine (12-12)

By Bruce Van Baren

KALAMAZOO – Kalamazoo upset Calvin 68-66 in the regular season finale
Saturday at Anderson Athletic Center. The Hornets snapped Calvin’s eight game
winning streak and gave the Knights just their second loss in the MIAA.

Calvin (17-7, 12-2) clinched the outright MIAA championship with a win over
Albion at Van Noord Arena on Wednesday. The Knights also hold the top seed in
the MIAA tournament and will host a first round conference game on Wednesday.

Despite having the conference title and top conference tournament seed
secured, coach Kevin Vande Streek said the Knights had a lot to play for in
their regular season finale.

“There were a lot of things to play for today,” Vande Streek said.
“We’ve been talking all week about taking a step forward and wanting
to become a great team and building momentum going into the conference
tournament.”

The Hornets (9-15, 5-9 MIAA) won their first game against an opponent with a
winning record.

“We knew that they were really looking for a signature win,” Vande Streek
said. “I didn’t have us ready to play today and that’s where the buck
stops. We just didn’t have the same urgency that we would have liked to
have.”
 
Henry McCain, who led the Hornets with 16 points, hit the game winner with
four ticks remaining. Backing into the right block, McCain turned away from the
pain and banked in a difficult floater from the baseline.

“I knew he was going to get it,” Zoerhof who was defending him. “I felt
I was in good position. He kind of got me back a little bit, but he made a
tough shot. He’s a good player.”

McCain deflected Calvin’s ensuing inbound pass out of bounds, setting Calvin
up near half court with two seconds on the clock.

Zoerhof inbounded to John Mantel (Chelsea HS) who was open under the hoop. Two
defenders crashed and were able to disrupt the layup.

“We knew they were going to key on Caleb so we had John rolling to the
hoop,” Zoerhof said. “He was in good position, it just didn’t go in.”

After scoring a career high 16 points against Albion on Wednesday, Danny Rodts
(Niles HS) led the Knights for the second straight game with 15 points. Rodts
also had a put back to tie the game 66-66 with just over 30 seconds left.

“He’s a good offensive player, but he just hasn’t looked to score,”
Vande Streek said. “We’ve talked to him about being a little more
aggressive. He seemed to really gain a lot of confidence against Albion and had
another really nice day today.”

Calvin was outrebounded for just the second time in the MIAA. The Knights lead
the MIAA in rebounding margin (+10 rpg) and defensive field goal percentage.

The Hornets, who are ranked last in the MIAA in field goal percentage
(39-percent), shot 55-percent from the field, including 65.4% in the first
half, and out rebounded Calvin 36-33.

“I want to give (Kalamazoo) credit that they came ready to play,” Vande
Streek said. “But I’m disappointed we couldn’t do a better job in those
two areas.”

Kalamazoo led by as many as seven points in the first half, but Calvin cut the
deficit to 37-33. The Hornets built a 12-point lead in the second half, but the
Knights closed to force the dramatic ending.

“You have to just let it go,” Zoerhof said. “It’s a new season now.
It’s win or go home. I think we can get a quick turn around here and have it
be a wakeup call and say let’s get ready to go.”

NOTES: Calvin will host either Trine or Alma at 7:30 p.m. inside Van Noord
Arena on Wednesday… Calvin swept the season series from each team… If the
Knights win their first round MIAA tournament game, they will host the
tournament semi-finals and finals on Friday (6 p.m./8 p.m.) and Saturday (7:30
p.m.)… Calvin also lost its regular season finale last season… A year ago,
Calvin advanced to the MIAA tournament championship game, but lost to Hope.

MIAA TOURNAMENT TICKET INFORMATION
Calvin vs Trine - Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7:30pm - doors open at 6:30pm.
General Admission tickets for Wednesday’s game will be on sale at the Box
Office on Monday, February 23 from 12:00pm - 5:00pm, and Tuesday and Wednesday,
February 24 and 25 from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Tickets will also be sold at the
Arena starting at 6:30pm on Wednesday.

FINAL MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

Calvin 12-2
Hope 11-3
Albion 9-5
Olivet 7-7
Adrian 5-9
Kalamazoo 5-9
Alma 4-10
Trine 3-13

MIAA TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS FOR FEB. 25 FIRST ROUND GAMES

#8 Trine (7-18) at #1 Calvin (17-7)
#7 Alma (6-18) at #2 Hope (18-7)
#6 Adrian (8-16) at #3 Albion (14-10)
#5 Kalamazoo (9-15) at #4 Olivet (12-13)

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Feb 21 23:43:04 2009