CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR JANUARY 15, 2015
Basketball Teams Claim Conference Victories to Stay on Top of MIAA Standings
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 92, Saint Mary's 52
By Gina de Haan
On Wednesday evening, the Calvin women's basketball team hosted the Belles of Saint Mary's, the first matchup this season between the two MIAA teams. The Knights entered the game with a perfect record (12-0 overall, 5-0 conference), and maintained their impressive win streak by defeating the Belles 92-52.
Although it was Saint Mary's who scored first off of a three-point bucket by Maddie Kohler, the Knights maintained their composure and quickly answered. Just over five minutes into the half, Calvin took charge. Layups from Bre Luurtsema and Breanna Verkaik kicked things off for the Knights, putting the home team up 8-7. Anna Timmer added to the effort, scoring back-to-back layups. Tiffany Karger capped off the Knight's seventeen-point run, sinking three consecutive three-pointers and giving her team a 21-7 lead.
Solid team offense helped the Knights earn the victory. In the first half, the home team shot 19-31 (61.3%) from the floor and 7-12 (58.3%) from three-point range; the Knights were also 6-6 from the free throw line. The Knights headed to the locker room at halftime with a comfortable 51-21 lead.
Anna Timmer was a key first half player for the Knights, contributing thirteen points, 4 rebounds, and a steal; Timmer shot one-hundred-percent from the floor, three-point range, and the line (5-5, 1-1, 2-2).
In the second half, the Knights offense continued to roll, starting the half with a 10-0 run; Calvin controlled play for the remainder of the game.
All fourteen Knights saw the court and all fourteen scored. Anna Timmer finished with seventeen points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Ali Spayde and Breanna Verkaik added ten points apiece, Tiffany Karger scored nine, and Jeana Sybesma finished with eight. Mackenzie Shelton dished out six assists and Kayla Engelhard had five steals. Calvin's bench contributed 62 points to the effort.
Calvin women's head basketball coach, John Ross, was pleased with his team's performance. "They started four posts and we only start one post, so the size differential there was big. They were tall and so much more physical than us, so it was really good to see us get aggressive, get our press going, and really put a lot of pressure on them, and then knock some shots down. Tiffany Karger hit three huge threes for us early, which really helped us a lot." Ross was also happy with the team effort that the Knights put forth. "It was good to get a lot of our players a lot of minutes tonight. Our starters didn't have to play a lot, so they can get some good rest before Saturday's game."
On Saturday, the Knights will travel to rival school Hope College to take on the Flying Dutch. The Hope women's basketball team is 14-1 overall and the only other MIAA team with a perfect conference record. Tip-off is at 3 p.m.
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-14-15
Calvin 6-0
Hope 6-0
Trine 4-2
Kalamazoo 4-3
Albion 3-4
Olivet 2-4
Alma 1-5
Adrian 1-5
Saint Mary's 1-5
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 61, Adrian 49
By Mark DeHaan
The Calvin men's basketball team traveled to Adrian College for an early season conference contest against the Bulldogs. With both teams entering with 2-0 records, the matchup was also a battle for first place as the Knights and Bulldogs were the only two teams with unblemished records in the MIAA.
With five minutes to go in the game, Calvin led by just three points. But, with the game winding down, the Knights went on an 11-2 run to close out the game and claim a 61-49 victory.
The teams fought evenly over the opening minutes, and on a three-pointer by freshman Connor VanderBrug, the Knights tied the game at 8-8.
A 7-0 run by Calvin then gave the Knights a 15-8 lead. Calvin's largest lead of the first half came at 21-13 with 6:38 to go.
In the closing minutes of the opening half, Adrian held the Knights to a single field goal, cutting Calvin's lead to 25-23 at halftime.
At the break, senior Tyler Dykstra had six points for Calvin while Ben Rodak had nine for Adrian. The Knights shot just 37.5% in the first half, but also held the Bulldogs to 34.6%.
Out of the half, after Adrian tied the ball game on a layup, back-to-back threes and a layup from the Knights put Calvin ahead 33-25.
Nine straight points by the Bulldogs then gave the hosts the lead for the first time since the opening minutes at 34-33 with 13:33 remaining in the game.
The teams then fought back and forth, and with 4:36 to go, Calvin held a three point advantage at 52-49.
Over the remaining minutes, the Knights held Adrian to 0-for-7 shooting from the field, all the while hitting 5-of-6 free throws from the line, icing the game and earning a 61-49 victory.
Calvin hit 43.5% of its field goals for the game, holding the Bulldogs to 38.9% shooting. The Knights out-rebounded Adrian 39-21.
Individually, junior Austin Parks was the only Knight in double-figures with 10 points. Dykstra, senior Jordan Brink and junior Jordan Daley each added nine points while VanderBrug and sophomore Cameron Denney contributed seven.
For Adrian, Justin Webster scored 13 points and Ben Rodak added 12.
"I'm really proud of our guys. I thought that the second half, we really adjusted to the physical play and moved the ball better, cut harder, and made some big shots - just enough to get ahead five or six, then make big free throws down the stretch" said head coach Kevin VandeStreek. "A variety of guys made big plays and big shots, and that's why we had the balanced scoring."
With the win, Calvin improves to 3-0 in the MIAA and 10-4 overall. Adrian falls to 4-10 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
The Knights now look forward to Saturday when they welcome Kalamazoo College to Van Noord Arena. The weekend contest is scheduled to tip-off at 3:00 p.m.
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-14-15 GAMES
Calvin 3-0
Adrian 2-1
Alma 2-1
Trine 2-1
Albion 1-2
Hope 1-2
Kalamazoo 1-2
Olivet 0-3
Received on Wed Jan 14 22:49:18 2015
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Wed Jan 14 2015 - 22:49:18 EST