CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR DECEMBER 28, 2012
Men's Basketball Rolls To Win Over Wabash at Elmhurst BlueJay Classic;
Women's Basketball Claims Big Win Over Colorado College
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 78, Colorado College 32
COLORADO SPRINGS, Col. - The third-ranked Calvin women's basketball team
claimed a 78-32 victory at Colorado College Friday night. The Knights are now
9-1 on the season and have won eight consecutive games.
Calvin led 41-16 at halftime, limiting the host Tigers to just six first half
field goals while forcing 22 turnovers.
Calvin kept the pressure on in the second half to close out the win as
Colorado College shot just 16.7 percent over the final 20 minutes of play.
Calvin used its inside game to its advantage as seniors Carissa Verkaik
(Holland Christian HS) and Julia Hilbrands (Grand Rapids Christian HS) scored
10 points apiece. Sophomores Breanna Verkaik (Holland Christian HS) and Abby
VanderWoude (Unity Christian HS) along with senior Ally Wolffis (Mona Shores
HS) had eight points apiece. Senior Kelsey Irwin (Fraser HS) added a pair of
triples to build her career total to 149.
"It was a good win," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "Everyone
got a chance to play and I thought we adjusted to the altitude well."
Calvin returns to action on Saturday when it faces Concordia (Wisc.) at 6 p.m.
(EST) at Colorado College.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 83, Wabash 56
By Mitch Blankespoor
ELMHURST, ILL. – The Calvin College men’s basketball team traveled to the west
suburbs of Chicago Friday morning for the Bluejay Classic hosted by Elmhurst
College. In December of 2010, Calvin split a pair of games at the same
tournament. This time around, the Knights were determined not to fall in the
first game. Calvin defeated Wabash College, Ind. 83-56.
The last time Calvin had faced Wabash was the 1996-97 season opener.
Ironically, Kevin Vande Streek coached his first game as Calvin’s head coach
against the Little Giants of Wabash. Calvin fell 83-79 in that contest. The
first couple minutes of the game on Dec. 28 looked like it might yield the same
result.
Wabash hit three of its first four three-point field coach attempts. Freshmen
Kasey Oetting (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia) drilled two of them from NBA-range
to give the Little Giants a 13-4 lead four minutes into the contest.
That nine point lead was Wabash’s biggest of the game. A layup from Calvin
senior forward Tom Snikkers (Hudsonville/Unity Christian) three minutes later
gave the Knights a lead they would not relinquish.
Wabash hung around and trailed by just four, 41-37 at the half. Calvin junior
center Tyler Kruis (Grandville/Calvin Christian) led all scorers with 11 points
at the half.
Calvin went on a 21-3 run to start the second half. Sophomore guard Jordan
Brink (Dyer, Ind./Illiana Christian), who was held scoreless in the first half,
had six of his eight points in this run.
“We really challenged the guys at halftime to lock up on defense in the second
half,” Vande Streek said after the match. “They kept the intensity up, and
played great team defense.”
Kruis led the Knights with 15 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Bryan
Powell Wyoming/Wyoming Park) chipped in 12 points. Four Knights finished with
eight points.
A trio of Little Giant freshman finished in double-digits in defeat. Oetting,
Ross Sponsler (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute North Vigo) and Daniel Purvlicis
(Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville HS) finished with 16, 13 and 11 points
respectively.
Calvin shot 41.9 percent from the field in the game as well as hitting 24 of
33 attempts from the charity stripe.
“We were very balanced on offense,” said Vande Streek. “It was good to see
everyone contribute and put the ball in the basket.”
Calvin will move on to the Bluejay Classic final against Ripon College, Wis.
The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. EST start on Saturday.
Received on Sat Dec 29 01:37:07 2012
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