CKSR (Women's Basketball Downs Olivet on the Road / Men's Basketball Falls to Alma in Nailbiter / Volleyball Raises National Championship Banner)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 8, 2017
Women's Basketball Downs Olivet on the Road;
Men's Basketball Falls to Alma in Nailbiter;
Volleyball Raises National Championship Banner

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 62, Olivet 49

OLIVET, Mich. - The Calvin women's basketball team got back on the winning track with a 62-49 victory at Olivet Wednesday evening. Calvin improves to 19-4 overall and 10-4 in the MIAA. The Knights are alone in third place in the MIAA standings.
With the win, Calvin also clinched a spot in the upcoming four-team MIAA Tournament.

Calvin led 30-27 at halftime but outscored the host Comets 21-8 in the third quarter to gain control of the game. Calvin bumped its lead to 18 points at 55-47 on a pair of free throws by junior Bre Luurtsema (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) early in the fourth quarter and never looked back.

Senior Anna Timmer (Caledonia, Mich./South Christian HS) notched her 17th double-double of the season in the win, recording 16 points and 11 rebounds. Luurtsema, senior Lauren Goldthorpe (St. Ignace, Mich./Lasalle HS) and junior Ali Spayde (Lewis Center, Oh./Worthington Christian HS) all had 12 points apiece with Luurtsema also dishing out nine assists.

Sophomore Rachel Warners (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) had six rebounds as did freshman Nicole Meyer (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower HS). Sophomore Becca Richards (Fort Gratiot, Mich./Port Huron Northern HS) chipped in with six points.
Olivet was led in scoring by Leeza Fortner with 15 points.

Calvin shot 42.9 percent from the field and outrebounded Alma 31-21.

Calvin will travel to Adrian on Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest.

MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-8-17 GAMES

Hope 12-1
Trine 12-1
Calvin 10-4
Albion 9-4
Adrian 7-7
Alma 6-7
Kalamazoo 2-11
Olivet 1-12
Saint Mary's 1-13
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Alma 68, Calvin 66

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Calvin welcomed the Alma College Scots to Van Noord Arena on Wednesday night, marking the second meeting of the season between the two MIAA teams. In the first meeting of the year between the two teams, Calvin claimed a 95-86 victory at Alma's Art Smith Arena, capping off its five-game win streak.
The Scots pulled off a second-half comeback to defeat the Knights 68-66. Despite shooting only 20% (3-15) from three-point range in the first half, Alma got hot after halftime, hitting eight shots from behind the arc to boost itself to victory.
With the loss, the Knights fall to 12-10 overall with a 7-4 conference mark. Alma improves to 11-11 overall and 7-4 in the conference, tied with Calvin.
The Knights jumped out to a 9-0 lead as four Knights scored in the first 2:30. Freshman Tony DeWitte (Grandville, Mich./Calvin Christian HS) hit a three-pointer to get Calvin on the board first. Seniors Michael Wilks (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS) and Michael Welch (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore HS) followed, putting in back-to-back layups. In the next possession, senior Cam Denney (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell HS) earned a steal and fed Tony Canonie (South Haven Mich./South Haven HS) for the fast-break layup. Alma would call timeout to break up the Knights' early momentum.
Coming out of the break, the Scots went on a 9-2 run. The Knights struggled to get their shots to fall, earning only two points from free throws in a span of nearly four minutes. With the scoreboard now reading 11-2, Calvin called timeout.
Sophomore Austin Bykerk (Jenison, Mich./Unity Christian HS) went 4-4 from the free throw line to earn the Knights a six-point advantage as the midpoint of the half neared.
The teams would exchange points, but with just over six minutes left, the Knights went on a 10-2 run to earn an 11-point advantage. At halftime, the Knights held a 35-25 advantage.
Alma's Trevor Gernaat hit a three-pointer to kick off the second half. Denney responded for the Knights, knocking down a jumper and a triple to widen the gap to 11 points.
Calvin maintained a double-digit lead until Alma's Steven Harvey drained a deep three, bringing the score to 46-37 with 12:50 left to play. The Scots would cut the Knights' lead to seven points, forcing a Calvin timeout.
Out of the break, Harvey would drain a trio of three-point field goals to tie the score at 50. Following Alma's offensive surge, the teams would go back-and-forth in scoring, the Knights going up by four after Welch knocked down a pair of free throws.
However, the Scots pushed back once again as Gernaat went on a 5-0 run to give his team a 61-60 lead with 4:29 remaining in the contest. Nick Kronemeyer (Hamilton, Mich./Hamilton HS) and Denney both made big buckets for Calvin, earning back the lead.
Alma's Tyler Edwards would complete a three-point play to knot the score at 64 with 3:16 left to play. After buckets on both ends, the scoreboard read 66-66.
Neither team would score for the next two minutes until Alma's Ryan Stevens banked in a jumper to put the Scots up by two with 4.8 seconds left on the clock.
The Knights were unable to convert on a last-second shot and the Scots took home the victory.
Welch led the Knights' offense with 16 points, also finishing with six rebounds. Denney followed with 13 points and a team-high seven boards. Wilks and Kronemeyer recorded eight and seven points, respectively. Canonie posted six points, four assists, four steals and four boards.
Alma's Steve Harvey led all scorers with 16 points, including four three-pointers, while Trevor Gernaat contributed 14.
The Knights will play their last regular season home game on Saturday when they host Kalamazoo College. When the two teams faced off in mid-January, the Knights fell 70-79 to the Hornets. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.

MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-8-17 GAMES

Hope 11-0
Alma 7-4
Calvin 7-4
Trine 6-5
Albion 5-6
Olivet 5-6
Kalamazoo 2-9
Adrian 1-10

VOLLEYBALL

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The women's volleyball team celebrated its 2016 national title on Wednesday night at the men's basketball game. The Knights raised the 2016 national championship banner to the top of Van Noord Arena. The 2016 national title is the third title in the past seven years. Every four-year player who has come into the volleyball program since 2007 has won a national title with head coach Dr. Amber Warners.
"We are so grateful for how the season ended," said head coach Dr. Amber Warners. "It never gets old. It is an incredible honor to be one of the 11 teams in Calvin history to accomplish winning it all."
Calvin finished the 2016 season with a 33-1 record and a perfect 16-0 record in MIAA play. The Knights would win the Grand Rapids, Michigan Regional with victories over Pitt.-Bradford, DePauw and Millikin. The Maroon and Gold would advance to the national championship game with wins over No. 5 Emory and No. 18 Northwestern in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Calvin would sweep the No. 16 Bears of Washington University in St. Louis, 3-0, to win the third Division III national title in school history.
The volleyball program had three All-American honorees in 2016 in senior Laura Danhoff, junior Jenna Lodewyk and sophomore Anna Kamp. Danhoff also earned the Most Outstanding Player honors at the championships.
"I am very proud of this team, program and my fellow seniors," said Danhoff. "All of our hard work has truly paid off in the best possible way and I could not be more excited to see not one, but two banners hang in Van Noord forever. I am eternally grateful to my coaches and teammates for their impact on me, I am proud to be a Knight for life."
The 2016 title is the third in program history, with titles in 2010 and 2013. This is the 11th NCAA Division III national title in school history.
"It means so much to us to have another banner hung up," said Keilahna Castillo. "It is really cool to give coach one of her three national championships. It is also so amazing to be able to see all of our hard work pay off."
The Knights will have their celebration banquet on Thursday night.
Received on Wed Feb 8 23:28:18 2017