CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 13, 2013
Men's and Women's Basketball Teams Claim Share of MIAA Regular Season Titles;
Swimming and Diving Off to Fast Start at MIAA Championships
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 83, Adrian 52
By Mark DeHaan
With an important game against the Flying Dutch of #3 Hope looming on
Saturday, the #2 Calvin Knights stayed focused on their contest Wednesday
against Adrian, defeating the Bulldogs 83-52. With the win, Calvin clinches a
share of the MIAA regular season title. The title is the third straight for
Calvin and the 14th in school history.
Adrian kept with the Knights through the opening minutes, trailing 12-8 just
over five minutes in. A few key plays from the Calvin reserves then kicked the
Knights into gear. Senior Julia Hilbrands put in a pair of layups and senior
Kelsey Irwin hit a pair of three-pointers to give Calvin the 22-12 advantage.
Four straight points from Adrian's Antoinea McElroy then cut the Knights lead
to 22-16 with 8:51 remaining in the opening half.
Stout defense over the remaining nine minutes and accurate shooting from
behind the arc saw Calvin open a 44-19 advantage by halftime. Adrian was held
to just one field goal over that period while four different Knights hit three
point shots to see the Calvin edge balloon to 25.
Sophomore Breanna Verkaik led all scorers with 12 points at the half. The
Knights as a team shot 8-for-13 from three-point range in the first half.
Calvin also assisted on 15-of-17 field goals in the opening period.
In the second half, the Knights received strong opening minutes from their
starters before the reserves took over. With 12:33 remaining in the contest,
Calvin took its largest lead of the game 61-30 on a layup by Hilbrands.
Strong play from the reserves saw sophomore Maria DeKuiper score nine points
in the closing minutes while sophomore Abby VanderWoude chipped in four points
and four rebounds.
The Knights closed out the game on an 8-0 run to complete the 83-52 victory.
Sisters Carissa and Breanna Verkaik each scored 12 points to lead the Knights,
while DeKuiper and Irwin added nine apiece and seniors Logan Marsh and Ally
Wolffis each chipped in eight. The Bulldogs were led on offense by Lauren
Rhoads who scored 12 points, while Casey Fougerousse and Rachael Walker each
scored ten.
“We really played well the last ten minutes of the second half. We made some
great stops defensively, we rebounded pretty well, we were running and made
some really good decisions; that was basically the difference in the game,”
said head coach John Ross. “Hope is going to be really tough. (DeVos) is a
really tough place to play, we've won once in about ten years there. It is
really going to be a battle.”
Calvin is now 22-1 overall and remains undefeated in conference play at 15-0.
Adrian drops to 7-16 on the year and 6-9 in the MIAA. The Knights now look
forward to Saturday when they will play Hope.
The winner will take the MIAA regular season title and the ability to host the
MIAA conference tournament. The game will be played at DeVos Fieldhouse in
Holland, with the tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m.
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-13-13 GAMES
Calvin 15-0
Hope 14-1
Olivet 10-5
Trine 7-8
Adrian 6-9
Alma 6-9
Albion 6-9
Saint Mary’s 3-13
Kalamazoo 1-13
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 61, Trine 59
By Mitch Blankespoor
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Looking to bounce back from the loss at Hope this past
Sat., the 19th ranked Calvin men’s basketball team hosted Trine University on
Wed. evening. The Knights came out victorious, defeating the Thunder 61-59 at
the Van Noord Arena.
Trine scored the first basket of the contest; a layup from junior Todd Watkins
(Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Bernard) thirty seconds into the game.
Calvin turned the ball over on its first three possessions before senior Bryan
Powell (Wyoming/Wyoming Park) drained a jumper with 16:15 remaining in the
first half.
This basket started a 19-0 run spanning 4:20 for Calvin. Powell scored 10 of
these 19 including a very deep three point basket. Senior Tom Snikkers
(Hudsonville/Unity Christian) then scored seven straight points for Calvin,
giving the Knights their biggest lead of the half; 26-8 with 9:42 remaining.
Trine cut Calvin’s lead to 15 on a layup from freshmen Jared Holmquist (Reed
City/Reed City HS) with 2:45 remaining. A Powell three-pointer gave the
Knights a 37-19 lead at halftime.
Powell led all scorers at the break with 13 points on 5-7 shooting from the
field. Snikkers added nine points and two rebounds. Calvin shot 53.3 percent
in the first half while holding the Thunder to a mere 25.9 percent.
Calvin continued to build on its lead early into the second half. A baseline
10-foot jump shot from sophomore Tyler Dykstra (Holland/Holland Christian) put
Calvin up 22 points with 17:30 remaining.
Trine, who came into the contest with a 14-9 record and a 7-5 mark in the
MIAA, did not bow out. The Thunder went on a 17-4 run in seven minutes
concluding with a three-pointer from freshman Nick Tatu (Clarkston/Clarkston
HS). The Thunder trailed 47-38 with 10:49 remaining.
Calvin sophomore Jordan Brink (Dyer, Ind./Illiana Christian) put the Knights
back up by 12.
Then Trine senior Ian Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) took over.
Jackson scored eight straight points for the Thunder.
Powell answered once again with two consecutive three-pointers to extend
Calvin’s lead to 56-46 with 5:36 remaining.
Jackson continued hitting tough shot after tough shot. Trine pulled within a
point with 15 seconds remaining. After Brink it both free throws, the Knights
were up by three, and elected to foul Trine and send them to the line.
After hitting the first free throw, Jackson intentionally missed the second,
Holmquist put up a 15-foot last-ditch heave, which did not hit the rim. Calvin
had escaped with the victory.
“I give a lot of credit to Trine,” said Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek
in a post-game interview. “They really took it to us in the second half.”
Powell finished with 19 points including 5-7 from beyond the three-point arc.
Brink chipped in 16 points, while Snikkers finished with 10.
“We need to do a better job in the second half,” Powell said.
Jackson, who was held to four points in a 56-43 defeat on Jan. 19 at Hershey
Hall, scored Trine’s final 21 points, and finished with 28 points on 9-17
shooting.
“We got careless with the basketball in the second half,” Vande Streek said.
“That being said, our guys did a good job with the lead down the stretch.”
Calvin committed 17 turnovers, and was outrebounded 33-30. The Knights did
shoot 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc. With its win, Calvin
improves to 21-3 and 12-1 in the MIAA. Calvin earned a share of the MIAA
conference title, and with a win against Olivet this upcoming Sat., Calvin
would clinch the outright championship for the first time since the 2009-10
season.
MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-13-13 GAMES
Calvin 12-1
Hope 11-2
Trine 7-6
Adrian 6-7
Olivet 6-7
Alma 4-9
Kalamazoo 4-9
Albion 2-11
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
JENISON, Mich. – The Calvin men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had
strong first day performances at the MIAA Championships at the Jenison Aquatic
Center.
The only finals event scheduled for Wednesday was the 800 freestyle relay and
on the women’s side, Calvin cruised to a first place time of 7:41.97. The time
is an NCAA “B cut qualifying time and was recorded by the Calvin quartet of
senior Stephanie Fox (Kentwood/Home Schooled), freshman Michaela Rookus
(Hudsonville/Hudsonville HS), senior Elizabeth Counsell (Indianapolis,
IN/Heritage Christian HS) and sophomore Kathryn Wrobel (Arden Hills, MN/Mounds
View HS). The finish gives Calvin a first place lead in the early team
standings with 40 points.
On the men’s side, Calvin’s 800 freestyle relay team of junior Andrew Mitchell
(Iron Mountain/), freshman Brandon Muma (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern HS),
freshman Aaron Venema (Grand Haven/Grand Haven HS) and sophomore Alex Baumann
(Holland/Holland Christian HS) took first place with a time of 6:53.10. Albion
took first place with a time of 6:49.90.
Calvin sits in second place in the men’s team standings with 34 points.
Action continues on Thursday with morning prelims and evening finals.
MIAA WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING TEAM SCORES
Calvin 40
Hope 34
Albion 32
Kalamazoo 30
Alma 28
Olivet 26
Saint Mary’s 24
MIAA MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING TEAM SCORES
Albion 40
Calvin 34
Kalamazoo 32
Hope 30
Alma 28
Olivet 26
Received on Wed Feb 13 22:47:32 2013
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