CKSR (Women's Basketball Hits 20-Win Plateau/Men's Basketball Moves Into Third Place Tie in MIAA Standings)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Women's Basketball Hits 20-Win Plateau;
Men's Basketball Moves Into Third Place Tie in MIAA Standings
 
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 79, Alma 49
 
ALMA - On Wednesday night the Calvin women's basketball team had 20/20 vision. The Knights (20-0 overall, 12-0 MIAA) defeated Alma 79-49 at Art Smith Arena, hitting the 20-win plateau for the 13th time in school history and for the seventh time under current head coach John Ross.
 
Calvin shot 48.4 percent from the field in the first half in rolling out to a 45-17 halftime lead. Calvin cooled down in the second half from the field but still managed to 47.6 percent (10 of 21) from three-point range in the win.
 
Senior Jill Thomas had the hot hand for the Knights Wednesday, scoring a season-high 16 points on the strength of 6 of 8 shooting including four three-point field goals. Thomas was one of four Calvin players to notch double-digits in scoring as junior Carissa Verkaik had 14 points and eight rebounds, junior Kelsey Irwin 12 points on the strength of four three-pointers and junior Ally Wolffis 10 points.
Calvin was credited with 19 assists with freshman Kayla Engelhard dishing out four assists and senior Courtney Kurncz three.
 
Alma (5-15 overall, 3-8 MIAA) was led by Morgan Henry and Mallory Pruett with nine points apiece.
 
Calvin is back in action on Saturday, traveling to rival Hope for a 3 p.m. game at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse.
 
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-1-12 GAMES
 
Calvin 12-0
Hope 9-2
Albion 8-4
Saint Mary's 6-6
Olivet 4-7
Adrian 4-8
Trine 4-8
Alma 3-8
Kalamazoo 2-9
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 64, Albion 55
 
ALBION - Calvin moved back into a tie for third place in the MIAA standings with a 64-55 victory at Albion Wednesday night at Kresge Gymnasium. The Knights (10-10 overall, 5-4 MIAA) are now tied with Trine for third place in the league standings while Albion slips back to 4-5 in league play.
 
Calvin used a strong first half to gain the win at Albion as the Knights led 33-20 at halftime without committing a turnover.
Albion rallied in the second half to within seven after Calvin had built a 16-point lead at 49-33. Juniors Tom Snikkers and Bryan Powell combined for eight points down the stretch for the Knights however to help seal the win.
 
"We hung in there, battled our way through and got a big win," said Calvin men's basketball coach Kevin Vande Streek. "It is always difficult to play at Albion. Our guys had to expend a great amount of effort to get this one tonight and it feels very good to come away with a win."
 
Snikkers led Calvin with 23 points and 11 rebounds, notching his seventh collegiate double-double in the process. Sophomore center Tyler Kruis also had 11 points while Powell collected eight points off the bench. Junior David Rietema had six points, four assists and three steals.
 
Albion was led by Zach Hurth with 18 points while Kolin Kazen had 15 points.
 
Calvin held a 42-33 rebounding advantage and shot 40.4 percent from the field overall.
Calvin will travel to Kalamazoo on Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest.
 
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-1-12 GAMES
 
Hope 9-0
Adrian 6-3
Calvin 5-4
Trine 5-4
Albion 4-5
Alma 3-6
Kalamazoo 3-6
Olivet 1-8
 

 
Received on Wed Feb 1 22:21:57 2012