CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR DECEMBER 23, 2014
Second Half Surge Propels Women's Basketball to 72-47 Win Over UC-Santa Cruz
California West Coast Diary Entry #4
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 72, UC-Santa Cruz 47
SANTA CRUZ, CA - A second half surge propelled the Calvin women's basketball team to a 72-47 victory over the Banana Slugs of UC-Santa Cruz Tuesday evening. Ranked 17th in one national poll and 19th in another, the Knights are now 9-0 on the year. It marks the first 9-0 start for Calvin since the 2011-12 season.
For one half of play, Calvin and UC-Santa Cruz (9-4) stood toe-to-toe as the Knights held a slim 27-23 halftime lead.
Calvin went on a 15-4 run over the first five minutes of the second half however to build a 42-27 lead and never looked back.
The Knights received timely three-point shooting in the second half surge, connecting on 5-of-9 from three-point range over the final 20 minutes of play.
"UC-Santa Cruz has a very good team. They were big and physical and we had to respond to that style of play," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "I was very proud of the way our players responded in a tight game throughout the first half. In the second half, our press started to pay some dividends and we hit some big three-point shots when we needed them."
Calvin was led by senior Breanna Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) who stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, four steals, three blocks and a pair of assists. Senior Hannah Acre (DeWitt/DeWitt HS) had 12 points while senior Kayla Engelhard (Unionville/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) had nine points, four assists and three steals. Junior Kally Verkaik had eight points including a pair of triples in the second half while adding five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) contributed seven points as well.
Calvin was 7-of-13 from three-point range with five different players connecting on at least one three-point shot. The Knights also were credited with 21 assists and 12 steals while holding the Banana Slugs to 30.4 percent field goal shooting. Sarah Mackey led UC-Santa Cruz in scoring with 10 points.
"We received contributions from a ton of players tonight," said Ross. "It was truly a team effort. We still have some things we have to work on but this was a very positive trip (to California). Our goal is to build on this trip and to keep the momentum rolling."
Calvin returns to action on January 3 when it travels to Olivet for a 3 p.m. MIAA contest.
MORE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Day 4 California Trip Diary
(Editor's note: The Calvin women's basketball team is currently in Northern California, preparing for a set of games hosted by UC-Santa Cruz Monday and Tuesday. Team members are providing daily updates from the trip.)
By Calvin College Senior Kelsey Pollock
Today was our first full day in Santa Cruz. We kicked off the morning bright and early with a continental breakfast at our hotel and then loaded up the vans to head over to the University of California Santa Cruz, home of the Banana Slugs, for our pregame shoot around. After hitting up the gym, we then ventured over to the campus store so everyone could stock up on their Banana Slug gear! From there we loaded up the vans once again and headed for the boardwalk, where we strolled along the shore of the Pacific Ocean. After our short visit, we then headed back to our hotel where we had lunch and watched game film of Lewis & Clark College, the team that we would later face in our first game.
With our uniforms and sneakers all packed, we left the hotel and made our way for Kaiser Permanente Arena where we played two strong halves to take a win over the Pioneers. To end the night, we celebrated our victory downtown at a restaurant called Pizza My Heart where we enjoyed great food with family and Calvin alumni.
We're excited to lace up and get back on the court again tomorrow as we take on the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs for our second and final game. Again, we'd like to give a huge thank you to all our family, friends, and fans who have supported us from near and afar and for making this trip possible.
Go Knights!
Received on Tue Dec 23 23:55:21 2014
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