CKSR (Women's Basketball Pulls Away for Win Over Olivet / Men's Basketball Falls at Alma)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 10, 2016

Women's Basketball Pulls Away for Win Over Olivet;
Men's Basketball Falls at Alma

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 76, Olivet 64
By Gina de Haan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - After being upset by conference opponent Trine this past Saturday, the Knights were looking to get back to their winning ways as the regular season winds down.
On Wednesday evening, Calvin hosted Olivet College (12-9, 8-4 MIAA) in the teams' second meeting this season. In the first matchup in early January, Calvin clinched a 79-77 overtime victory after sophomore Bre Luurtsema (Holland/Holland Christian HS) connected on a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the game.
The Knights, who entered the contest with a 16-5 overall record, with a 10-2 conference mark, improved their record by one win, defeating the visiting team by a score of 76-64.
To kick off the game, to two teams went back-and-forth in scoring, with Calvin pulling ahead and then Olivet evening the score.
Junior Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) scored the Knights' first seven points, helping her team maintain its lead, until a made jump shot by Olivet's T'Keyia Collins tied the game at seven, followed by another two points by Collins that gave the Comets a 9-7 lead with 4:07 remaining in the first quarter.
After being held scoreless for over two minutes, the Knights tied the game for the fourth time after senior Abby Springer (Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills HS) got a steal near halfcourt and took the ball to hoop for a layup. Olivet went on to score the next five points to earn itself a five-point advantage (14-9), but Timmer recorded the last two points of the quarter, putting in a layup with four seconds left on the clock. The scoreboard read 14-11 in Calvin's favor at the conclusion of the first quarter.
The Knights began to takeover in the second quarter, outscoring the Comets 23-14. The quarter got off to a slow start, with neither team scoring until 2:41 in, when Calvin junior Lauren Goldthorpe (St. Ignace/St. Ignace HS) hit a three-pointer, tying the game at 14.
Olivet's Shauni Hankins responded with a layup, but the Knights then went on a seven-point run soon, with Timmer and sophomore Anita VanderMeulen (Ann Arbor/Skyline HS) contributing four and three points, respectively. Calvin held a 21-16 lead at the midpoint of the second quarter.
The Comets would cut Calvin's lead to three four times, but were answered each time by the Knights' offense, with made shots from sophomore Ali Spayde and Luurtsema.
With 1:36 left to play in the half, Olivet's Kate McKinnon stole the ball and took it to the hole for two points, cutting Calvin's lead to one (29-28). However, Timmer would once again score the final points of the quarter, capitalizing on a three-point play and then knocking down two free throws.
Heading into the locker room at the break, Calvin possessed a 34-28 lead. Timmer was responsible for more than half the Knights' points, scoring 19 in the first half (6-10 FG, 7-8 FT) and also snagging six boards.
To start the second half of the contest, Spayde banked one in for two points, but the Comets quickly began to chip away at Calvin's lead. Olivet's Hankins knocked down a triple three minutes into the third quarter to make the score 36-35, still in Calvin's favor, now by just one point.
A Comets' layup by Jackie Harwood would tie the game at 39 with 4:38 left in the third quarter. However, the Knights held on to their lead and began to widen the gap after shooting 9-9 from the free throw line and outscoring their opponents 13-8 in the remainder of the quarter. The home team possessed a 52-47 lead at the conclusion of the third quarter.
Olivet was first to strike in the fourth quarter, but Calvin would soon seal its victory. With seven minutes left to play, the Knights scored eight consecutive points to give themselves an 11-point advantage (62-51) as the midpoint of the quarter passed.
Backed by strong free throw shooting from an assortment of players, the Knights rolled through the rest of the quarter and earned the win.
The Knights outscored their opponents 24-17 in the final quarter.
Timmer recorded a career-high 26 points in the Knight victory, also finishing with eight rebounds. Luurtsema followed with 21 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, logging her seventh double-double of the season. Spayde chipped in 11 points and also dished out seven assists.
The Knights knocked down a season high 29 free throws in the conference contest, connecting on 85.3% (29-34) of shots from the line, also a season-high.
"It's nice to be back at home and to get back on the winning track," said head coach John Ross.
Calvin is back in action Saturday as the Knights travel to Adrian to take on the Bulldogs (10-11, 7-6 MIAA) in their final regular season road game. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.

MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-10-16 GAMES

Hope 13-0
Calvin 11-2
Olivet 8-5
Trine 8-6
Adrian 7-6
Albion 5-8
Kalamazoo 4-10
Alma 3-10
Saint Mary's 1-13

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Alma 91, Calvin 79

ALMA, Mich. - The No. 13 Scots were too much for the Knights on Wednesday evening. Calvin falls to 9-13 on the season with the 91-79 loss.
"I have a hard time explaining our first half," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "Alma has a really good team. Give us credit, we didn't quit after we were one of 17 in the first half from three-point range. We have to make to make shots, we have to other things better too. We did things better in the second half, we were making some shots."
Senior Jordan Daley (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) would get the Knights on the scoreboard first, but the first half would be all Alma after that. Leading 5-4, Alma would go on an 18-9 run to give some separation. The Knights would go into halftime trailing, 47-29.
The Knights would start the second half on a 5-1 run in the first 70 seconds of the half. The Scots would push back over the next few minutes to extend their lead to 20 points at 68-48 with 11:33 remaining. Over the next five minutes the Knights would go on a 19-6 run to trail 74-67 with 6:04 remaining. The run was highlighted by three three-point baskets by senior Austin Parks (Niles, Mich./Niles). The Knights continued to fight the rest of the half but could not overcome the Scots.
Junior Cameron Denney (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) led the Knights on Wednesday with 20 points, which ties his career-high at Calvin. Following Denney was Jordan Daley with 17 points and Austin Parks with 11 points. Sophomore Michael Wilks (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) and Jordan Daley both finished with eight rebounds. With his 17 points, Daley moved past Bill Wolterstorff (1961) and Matt Veltema and into 21st place on the Calvin career scoring list.
The Knights owned the boards on Wednesday, outrebounding the Scots, 53-32.
Calvin returns to action on Saturday as the Knights travel to Kalamazoo to face the Hornets.

MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-10-16 GAMES

Alma 10-1
Hope 10-1
Albion 7-4
Adrian 5-6
Trine 5-6
Calvin 4-7
Olivet 2-9
Kalamazoo 1-10
Received on Wed Feb 10 23:57:26 2016