CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 2, 2012
Women's Basketball Defeats Wisconsin-Lutheran 59-47 in First Round NCAA III
Tournament Game;
Track and Field Athletes Compete at Last-Chance Meet at North Central
College;
Baseball and Softball Games Postponed In Kentucky
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 59, Wisconsin-Lutheran 47
Playing in the nightcap of two NCAA III Tournament opening round games, the
Calvin College Knights faced off against the Wisconsin-Lutheran College
Warriors and recorded a 59-47 victory. Calvin will face the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point in a second round game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Van
Noord Arena. Wisconsin-Stevens Point defeated Franklin 61-58 in Friday’s
opening first round game.
The Knights, hosting the first two rounds, were winners of the Michigan
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and came into the game ranked 5th in the
country and with a 25-1 overall record. Wisconsin-Lutheran, winners of the
Northern Athletics Conference, came into the game with a 24-4 record.
Both teams played very tough defense early on, with the Warriors holding a 5-3
lead five minutes into the opening half. A 6-0 lead by Calvin gave the Knights
the 9-5 lead. After a Wisconsin-Lutheran layup, Calvin junior guard Kelsey
Irwin hit a three to push Calvin's advantage to 12-7. Ten early turnovers by
the Warriors allowed Calvin to gain the advantage.
With 6:58 remaining, the Knights pushed their lead to 18-10 on a layup by
junior Ally Wolffis. The Warriors responded with a 6-0 run to bring the score
to 18-16 with 4:33 left in the half.
Four straight points by Calvin freshman Kayla Engelhard extended the Knights
lead to 22-16 before a Warriors free-throw settled the score at 22-17 at
halftime.
Engelhard let all scorers at the half with six points. Wolffis added five
points for the Knights, while junior Julia Hilbrands grabbed six rebounds. The
Warriors were led by freshman Kristen Schulz, who had four points and four
rebounds at the break. Both teams struggled from three-point range, the
Warriors shooting 2-for-11 and Calvin shooting 1-for-9.
Out of the break, the Warriors tied up the game at 26-26 on a layup by Schulz
three minutes in. With 13:02 left, a three-point shot by Calvin senior guard
Jill Thomas gave the Knights the largest lead of the second half at 37-29.
Wisconsin-Lutheran senior Rachel Johnson hit back-to-back jumpers with seven
minutes remaining to cut the Warriors deficit to 42-39. The Knights responded
with an 8-0 run to build the largest lead of the game at 50-39 with 3:38
remaining.
The Warriors closed the gap to 54-45 with just over a minute remaining, but
the Knights iced the game at the free-throw line, hitting 5-of-6 in the last
minute en route to a 59-47 victory.
The Knights were led on offense by junior and Jostens Trophy nominee Carissa
Verkaik, who scored 19 points and added five rebounds. Engelhard scored 14
points to go with five boards, while Julia Hilbrands chipped in seven points
and nine rebounds.
“(Wisconsin-Lutheran) gave us a ton of trouble in the first half. They did a
great job of shutting down Carissa, Ally, and Julia, and putting a lot of
pressure on our guards,” said Knights Head Coach John Ross. “I think we really
clamped down, in the second half, and we did a really good job of getting
Carissa the ball in places where she could score.”
Wisconsin-Lutheran was led by Schulz, who scored ten points, grabbed 13
rebounds, and blocked four shots. Johnson added twelve points and seven
rebounds, while junior Shavon Dillon scored nine points.
“I thought we out-rebounded them, we hustled – I thought we did a great job at
that. We had a little stretch where if we made a couple shots I think we really
would have put the pressure on them. Down the stretch, they went on a little
bit of a run and we couldn't fight back,” said Warriors Head Coach Klay
Knueppel.
The Warriors are in their second straight tournament, and have a relatively
young squad. “We are building something, hopefully, that will be special,” said
Knueppel. “We want to go farther than we are getting now. I think Rachel
(Johnson) and (past players) have done a good job of building a nice winning
tradition at Wisconsin-Lutheran College.”
The Knights are now 16-13 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play. Calvin will be
facing Wisconsin-Stevens Point for the first time in NCAA III Tournament play.
REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SITE:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/womens/basketball/ncaaregional.htm
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
NAPERVILLE, IL – A group of Calvin men’s and women’s track and field athletes
competed at a last-chance meet hosted by North Central College Friday night,
hoping to improve performances in order to qualify for the upcoming NCAA III
Indoor Track and Field Championships.
One Calvin athlete who certainly increased his stock on Friday night was
junior Matt VanderRoest who took first place in the 5,000 meters with a time of
14:35.12. The time puts VanderRoest into the top 10 on the NCAA III indoor
qualifying list and puts him in contention for a qualifying berth to next
week’s national meet. Senior Dan Kerr was also fifth (14:54.55) and
sophomore Sam Kerk seventh (15:06.38).
Junior Greg Whittle won the mile run with a time of 4:14.23. His time was not
a season-best and places him squarely on the bubble for NCAA III qualification
as he currently sits 12th on the qualifying list with a handful of last-chance
meets still set to be run on Saturday.
In the men’s shot put, junior Aaron Meckes took third with a throw of 52-10 ¾.
Meckes currently sits in eighth place on the NCAA III indoor list and is in
contention for a qualifying spot.
In the women’s 5,000 meters, senior Jodi Hoekstra took third with a time of
17:38.63. She is currently in ninth place on the NCAA III indoor list and is
contention for a qualifying spot. Sophomore Nicole Michermhuizen also ran a
time of 17:51.10.
In the men’s high jump, sophomore Matt Christians placed 11th with a jumper
6-2 ¾.
The NCAA III Indoor Championships qualifying field is expected to be
announced later this weekend.
BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL
Calvin's scheduled games in Danville, Kentucky, on the campus of Centre
College were postponed on Friday because of weather.
The Calvin baseball team will attempt to play games against host Centre and
also Defiance College on Saturday while the Calvin softball team is scheduled
to face host Centre in a doubleheader Saturday.
Received on Fri Mar 2 23:50:08 2012
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