CKSR (Women's Basketball Uses Late Second Half Surge To Snare 83-73 Win at Olivet)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR JANUARY 3, 2015

Women's Basketball Snares 83-73 Conference Win at Olivet

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 83, Olivet 73

OLIVET - Calvin used a late second-half surge to snare an 83-73 road win over the Olivet Comets Saturday afternoon. Ranked 19th by D3hoops.com, Calvin trailed 63-56 with 7:43 remaining but used a 17-1 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes to take a 73-64 lead.

Calvin's seniors were crucial in the comeback effort as senior Breanna Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) nailed a triple to ignite the 17-1 run and another triple to close out the run. Senior Kayla Engelhard (Unionville/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) also swished a clutch triple from the right wing while senior Hannah Acre (DeWitt/DeWitt HS) calmly hit four free throws in the spurt, calmly converting both ends of a pair of bonus opportunities.

Acre's first set of free throws gave Calvin a 65-63 lead and her second set gave the Knights a 67-63 advantage. Engelhard then bombed in a triple to put Calvin up 70-64 and Breanna Verkaik added another trifecta moments later.

Calvin then went 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final minute of play to prevent the Comets (5-7 overall, 0-3 MIAA) from mounting a final comeback bid.

The first half belonged to Calvin as the Knights led 47-38 at halftime. Calvin then struggled to find the basket in the second half, converting just one field goal - a triple by Breanna Verkaik - over the first nine minutes of the second half.

Meanwhile Olivet began to claw back into the game and took the lead at 53-50 on a three-pointer by Carli Reid. The Olivet lead then ballooned to seven points at 63-56 after all-conference post Stefanie Lang coverted a pair of buckets inside and Jackie Harwood tossed in a free throw.

"I give a ton of credit to Olivet today," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "They were missing a couple of players who were out with injuries and still fought us to the finish. In the first half we did a good job shooting from the perimeter but then we struggled to find the range and it was tough getting the ball inside when they have a pair of front-line players that are 6-4 and 6-2. I think the big key for us is that we remained resilient and didn't panic. Olivet is a tough place to play and we are happy to come out of here with a win."

Calvin was led in scoring by Engelhard who tossed in 16 points to go with five steals. Breanna Verkaik had 15 points including 13 in the second half. Acre had 13 points and seven rebounds while sophomore Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) had 10 points and nine rebounds. Junior Kally Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) had eight points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Junior Tiffany Karger (Cedar Springs/Cedar Springs HS) also had eight points including a pair of three-point baskets.

Olivet received 19 points and 14 rebounds from Lang while Reid had 14 points and Ayren Parrish 13 points.

Calvin was 14 of 21 (.667) from free throw line while Olivet was 12 of 25 (.480). Calvin held a 51-43 rebounding advantage and forced Olivet into 27 turnovers.

Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Adrian at 8 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.
Received on Sat Jan 3 18:03:01 2015