CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR JAN. 25, 2012
Women's Basketball Erupts for 106 Points In Victory Over Albion;
Men's Basketball Moves Into Tie For Third Place in MIAA Standings With Win Over
Olivet
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 106, Albion 59
By Sports Information Student Assistant Mark DeHaan
Coming off a tough 55-52 win over the Bulldogs of Adrian, Calvin was looking to
come out hot against an Albion squad that had beaten Hope 63-46 this past
Saturday – and Calvin did just that. The Knights shot 10-of-16 from three point
range in the first half to build a 50-26 lead at the break. In the second half,
the Knights’ shooting would improve, expanding their lead to 47 as the final
buzzer sounded, giving Calvin the 106-59 win.
It marked Calvin’s highest point output since a 110-57 win over Kalamazoo in
1983 and marked the first time the Knights reached the century mark in points
since 1995 when the Knights scored 104 in a win over Olivet. The Calvin team
single-game scoring record is 116 points established in a win over Kalamazoo in
1979. In addition, Calvin established a single-game school record for most
three-pointers in a game as the Knights finished 16-of-27 from beyond the
three-point arc for a 59.3 percent clip.
The teams played neck-and-neck in the opening four minutes, tied at 6-6 with
16:20 remaining. A pair of three-point shots by junior Kelsey Irwin split by a
trifecta from junior Carissa Verkaik gave Calvin a 15-6 advantage.
The Britons then cut the Calvin lead to 15-9 on a three-point shot of their
own, but that was as close as it would get as hot shooting by the Knights
continued to expand their lead.
Calvin’s lead was extended to as much as 26 on a three-pointer by senior Jill
Thomas with 2:20 left before it settled at the 50-26 advantage at the break.
Irwin led all scorers at the half with a career high of 15 on 5-of-5 shooting
from behind the arc. Thomas was also perfect from three-point range, shooting
3-of-3 in the opening period. Verkaik chipped in 12 points. Patty Rewa,
Albion’s leading scorer and the MIAA’s leading rebounder, was limited to
five points and three rebounds in the first half as she was called for three
early fouls.
Out of the break, Calvin got nine combined points from Verkaik and freshman
Kayla Engelhard to push the Knights lead to 59-26. The shots continued to fall
for Calvin as it pushed its advantage to 41 on a free throw by freshman Breanna
Verkaik.
With just over eight minutes remaining, Head Coach John Ross cleared his bench,
and the offense didn’t seem to miss a beat. Junior Logan Marsh led the attack,
shooting 6-of-6 from the free throw line and 3-of-4 from behind the arc en
route to a career high 15 points. Freshman Maria DeKuiper chipped in seven
points and Breanna Verkaik added seven of a career high 14 in those final
minutes to give Calvin the 106-59 victory.
It marked Calvin’s highest point output since a 110-57 win over Kalamazoo in
1983 and marked the first time the Knights reached the century mark in points
since 1995 when the Knights scored 104 in a win over Olivet. The Calvin team
single-game scoring record is 116 points established in a win over Kalamazoo in
1979.
Leading the Knights in scoring was Carissa Verkaik with 20 points and six
rebounds. Thomas scored nine to go along with a team-high five assists.
Overall, Calvin totaled 28 assists on 57.8% shooting, 59.3% from behind the
arc.
The Knights’ defense held the Britons to 30.9% shooting and forced the Albion
offense into 18 turnovers. Rewa finished with just seven points and boards as
she fouled out with more than six minutes remaining. The Britons were led in
scoring by sophomore Taylor Nugent who scored 13 off the bench. Senior Nicole
Dennis added eight points and seven rebounds.
“We knew that Albion was a really good team and they were playing really,
really well, and we had to play our best game of the year to beat them,” said
Ross. “I would have been happy with a one point win, I have no idea what got
into our shooting – to score that many points, I had to let our offense just go
out there and keep shooting.”
Albion was led in scoring by Taylor Nugent who tallied 13 points while Madeline
Winters had 10 points.
Calvin now owns a two-game lead over Hope (8-2) in the MIAA standings and a
three-game lead over Albion.
Calvin will host Trine on Saturday at 1 p.m.
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-25-12 GAMES
Calvin 10-0
Hope 8-2
Albion 7-3
Saint Mary's 5-5
Olivet 3-6
Adrian 3-7
Alma 3-7
Trine 3-7
Kalamazoo 2-7
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 93, Olivet 65
Calvin picked up its fourth win in its last five games with a 93-65 triumph
over visiting Olivet Wednesday night at Calvin's Van Noord Arena. The Knights
are now 9-9 overall and more importantly locked in a tie for third place in the
MIAA standings with Trine at 4-3 in league play. Calvin is just one game behind
second place Adrian (5-2) heading into a key Saturday contest between the two
teams slated to start at 3 p.m. at Calvin.
Heading into its last two games, Calvin had shot above 50 percent from the
field in just eight of its 48 games at Van Noord Arena. After Saturday's 78-51
win over Trine and Wednesday's win over Olivet, Calvin has now shot over 50
percent at home in back-to-back games. In the win over Olivet, Calvin shot 59.0
percent (39 of 61) from the field after shooting 59.6 percent in Saturday's win
over Trine.
"I think part of it is that our guys are understanding their roles and our shot
selection as a team has greatly improved," said Calvin men's basketball coach
Kevin Vande Streek. "We're starting to gain confidence as a team on offense but
I think part of that has to do with our defensive effort. When we play hard on
defense, our energy and focus on offense also picks up."
Calvin limited Olivet (3-16 overall, 1-6 MIAA) to 39.3 percent field goal
shooting Wednesday night. Olivet closed to within 15 points with just over
seven minutes remaining before the Knights responded with a 17-2 scoring run to
seal the win.
Calvin placed four players in double-digits in scoring led by junior Tom
Snikkers who had 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Junior Bryan
Powell had a strong game off the bench, connecting on 8 of 10 shots along with
a pair of free throws for 18 points while junior Matt DeBoer had 12 points and
sophomore Tyler Kruis had 11 points. Junior Nate Van Eck added eight points in
a reserve role as Calvin's bench accounted for 40 of the team's 93 points.
Junior point guard David Rietema had another outstanding floor game with seven
assists against just one turnover while also snaring eight rebounds.
Olivet was led by Dakotah Ellis with 20 points while Alvino Ashley had 15.
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-25-12 GAMES
Hope 7-0
Adrian 5-2
Albion 4-3
Calvin 4-3
Trine 4-3
Albion 3-4
Alma 2-5
Kalamazoo 2-5
Olivet 1-6
Received on Thu Jan 26 00:02:58 2012
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