CKSR (Calvin Knight Sports Report for December 30, 2011)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR DECEMBER 30, 2011

Women's Basketball Tops UW-LaCrosse 60-40;
Men's Basketball Defeated by Whitman 84-67

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 60, UW-LaCrosse 40

LACROSSE, WI - Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross will carry family bragging rights into the new year. On Friday afternoon, his fourth-ranked Calvin women's basketball team claimed a 60-40 victory over the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. The host Eagles include Mark Ross, a younger brother of John Ross, as an assistant coach on its coaching staff.

"This was a really nice victory for our team," said John Ross after the game. "To get a win against a high-caliber opponent in a hostile atmosphere on the road is big."
As for coaching against his brother with his father Alan and mother Odetta in attendance, John Ross had mixed emotions. "For me personally, it was difficult to coach against my brother because I respect him so much and we are very close," said John Ross. "He has a great basketball mind and he knows the system that we run at Calvin very well which had me worried. I am happy to get the win but I am glad to get this game out of the way."

Calvin is now 10-0 on the season heading into a Saturday afternoon contest at Luther College (IA).

In its victory over Wisconsin-LaCrosse (9-3), Calvin held a slim 25-23 halftime advantage but surged in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 9-2 in the first five minutes of the second half to build a 34-25 lead. The Calvin lead later swelled to 18 points at 50-32 with 8:14 remaining after a jumper by freshman Kayla Engelhard. Wisconsin-LaCrosse got no closer than 13 points the rest of the way as the Knights pulled away for the win.

Calvin was led by junior center Carissa Verkaik who poured in 27 points along with 10 rebounds, six blocked shots and three steals to notch her 32nd career double-double and her seventh double-double of the season. Junior post Julia Hilbrands added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench while junior forward Ally Wolffis had nine points and seven rebounds. Senior Courtney Kurncz also keyed a Calvin defense that recorded 13 steals as she picked up five steals individually.

As a team, Calvin limited Wisconsin-LaCrosse to 23.5 percent field goal shooting. The Eagles were led in scoring by Kassie Robinson with 17 points and six rebounds.

"I thought our post play was exceptional this afternoon but our guards also did a great job of handling the ball, particularly against their full-court pressure," said John Ross. "Our defense, particularly in the second half was also outstanding."

Calvin's game against Luther in Decorah, Iowa, on Saturday is slated to start at 2 p.m. (EST). The Luther women's basketball program is asking all fans bring non-perishable food items or paper products such as toilet paper, paper towels etc., as admission to the basketball game. Fans will also be given an opportunity to donate cash. All items and money will be donated to the Decorah area food pantries.

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Whitman 84, Calvin 67

LYNDEN, WA - Calvin dropped its second game in as many nights in the state of Washington, falling 84-67 to the Whitman College Missionaries.

The two teams were tied 37-37 at halftime but Whitman (8-3) began to build a lead inside the final 10 minutes of play.

Calvin held a 51-50 lead with 12:37 remaining but Whitman regained the lead at 52-51 with 10:30 left and never trailed again.

Calvin (5-6) remained within striking distance at 62-57 with 6:42 left after junior Matt DeBoer connected on a short jump shot bt Whitman proceeded to rip off a 16-5 run over the next four minutes to put the game out of reach.

Whitman connected on 27 field goals to Calvin's 26 but the Missionaries were 6-of-20 from three-point range while Calvin was 0-of-10. In addition, Whitman connected on 24-of-35 attempts from the free throw line while Calvin was 15-of-23 at the charity stripe. Both teams finished with 41 rebounds apiece.

Calvin was led in defeat by junior Tom Snikkers with 16 points while sophomore Mickey DeVries had 15 points and DeBoer 14. DeBoer's scoring effort extended his double-figure scoring streak to seven games. Junior Nate Van Eck blocked five shots off the bench while junior David Rietema had four assists, four rebonds and four steals. Junior Bryan Powell also had five points, four rebounds and four assists.

Whitman was led in the win by David Michaels with 22 points.

Calvin will now prepare for its MIAA opener next Wednesday at Adrian with the game scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
Received on Sat Dec 31 10:48:31 2011