CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR DECEMBER 10, 2016
Men's Basketball Edged at Wheaton;
Women's Basketball Rolls to Conference Win at Saint Mary's;
Calvin in Third Place in Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Race;
Kailey Jo Receives NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-Region Honors
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Wheaton 74, Calvin 65
WHEATON, Ill. - The Calvin men's basketball team was edged on the road on Saturday night at Wheaton. The Thunder defeated the Knights, 74-65. Calvin is now 3-5 on the year and Wheaton improves to 5-3.
"I thought it was a really intense game tonight," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "It was a big improvement from last weekend. We competed really hard, we need to make some more shots and execute better. I think there are a lot of positives and we are going to keep getting better."
The Knights jumped out to an early 13-5 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Senior Cam Denney (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) had five points in the Calvin run. The Thunder would rally to tie the game at 20 with 10:31 left in the first half. Freshman Derrick DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Covenant Christian) would give the Knights the lead back 15 seconds later with a jump shot. The two teams would exchange the lead a few times before Wheaton would push the lead to five at 32-27 with 3:31 left in the first half. Calvin would cut the lead to one and head into halftime trailing, 37-36.
Calvin started the second half on an 8-2 run to take a 44-39 lead. Wheaton would respond with a 6-0 run over the next three minute to regain the lead. The Knights and Thunder would exchange the lead six times before the Thunder held onto the lead for good. Wheaton would take a 10-point lead at the 4:05 mark of the second half. The Knights would chip the lead down to three before Wheaton would separate and take the game, 74-65.
Cam Denney led the Knights with a season-high 19 points. He also finished with seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Austin Bykerk (Jenison, Mich./Unity Christian) tallied 15 points against the Thunder on Saturday. Senior Michael Welch (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore) led Calvin with eight rebounds and junior Tony Canonie (South Haven, Mich./South Haven) had a game-high five assists. Calvin won the rebounding battle on Saturday, 37-34.
The Knights are back in action on Dec. 21, when the Knights host Anderson at Van Noord Arena.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 83, Saint Mary's 37
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Calvin placed five players in double-digits in scoring in rolling to an 82-37 conference victory at Saint Mary's College Saturday afternoon.
Junior Ali Spayde (Lewis Center, Oh./Worthington Christian HS) had 17 points and senior Anna Timmer (Caledonia, Mich./South Christian HS) 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to lead a balanced scoring attack.
Senior Lauren Goldthorpe (St. Ignace, Mich./LaSalle HS) had 13 points and eight rebounds and junior Bre Luurtsema (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) 13 points, six assists and five boards.
Sophomore Becca Richards (Fort Gratiot, Mich./Port Huron Northern HS) also tossed in 10 points off the bench. Junior Caroline Postema (Walker, Mich./Unity Christian HS) chipped in with six points of the bench.
Timmer's 15-point, 17-rebound effort marked the 15th double-double of her collegiate career including her seventh this year.
Spayde meanwhile was 5 of 7 from three-point range as the Knights connected on 41 percent of their triple tries on the afternoon.
Saint Mary's was led by Ally Steve with 14 points.
Calvin will head into first semester exam break with an overall record of 9-1 including a 3-1 conference mark.
The Knights return to action on December 21 when they face Kean University at the Puerto Rico Clasico in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
LEARFIELD DIRECTORS' CUP UPDATE
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Calvin currently stands in third place in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings after an outstanding fall season. The Knights have 314 points so far. The Knights trail Washington-St. Louis at 385 points and Tufts at 365.5 points. Calvin is the only MIAA institution in the top-25, with Hope being the next closest in 36th place.
Calvin received 100 points from the women's volleyball team that won the national title in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Knights picked up 90 points from the men's soccer team that advanced to the national championship game in Salem, Virginia. The women's cross country team tallied 69 points with a ninth-place finish and the men's cross country team recorded 55 points with a 19th-place finish at the national championships in Louisville, Kentucky.
The latest set of fall sports standings includes the sports of men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's water polo and women's field hockey. It does not include football which will conclude in two weeks. The final fall sports standings are slated to be released on December 22.
The Learfield Directors' Cup race is held at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels and also for NAIA institutions. The Learfield Directors' Cup is based on points earned by teams that compete in NCAA and NAIA Championship events and is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) to the best overall collegiate athletics program in the country.
Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA and NAIA Championship competition in up to 18 sports -- nine for men and nine for women. Each national champion receives 100 points with a national runner-up finish worth 90 points. Third place is worth 85 points and fourth place finishes count for 80 points with a sliding point scale continuing on down by order of finish.
Competition will continue with the winter sports season and finish with the conclusion of the spring sports season in May. Calvin finished in 27th place last year in NCAA Division III at 515.75 points.
WOMEN' S SOCCER
Last week, Calvin College senior Kailey Jo was named to the NSCAA Division III All-Central Region third team as a player. This week as she has been named to the NSCAA Division III All-Region third team as a scholar-athlete.
A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School, Jo was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division III All-Central Region Scholar-Athlete Third Team on Friday.
A defender, Jo played a key role in Calvin posting six shutouts this fall. The primary taker of corner kicks, she also was credited with two goals and four assists in league action. She was named MIAA Defensive Player of the Week once.
Last month, she was named to the All-MIAA first team and landed a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District team.
Jo is a speech pathology major at Calvin with plans to graduate next year with her bachelor's and master's degrees.
Received on Sat Dec 10 23:16:59 2016
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