CKSR (Women's Basketball Falls To Trine / Men's Basketball Clipped by Comets / Anna Gernant Named Preseason Softball All-American)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR JANUARY 24, 2018

Women's Basketball Falls to Trine;
Men's Basketball Clipped by Comets;
Anna Gernant Named Preseason Softball All-American

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Trine 49, Calvin 46

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's basketball team fell 49-46 in a closely-contested MIAA matchup with No. 12 Trine. Trailing by 11 at halftime, the Knights outscored the Thunder 16-9 in the third quarter and used their momentum to take the lead in the final five minutes of the game. Despite the strong comeback effort, the Knights didn't get an opportunity for a final shot and fell to the Thunder at Van Noord Arena.
With the loss, Calvin falls to 12-7 on the year with a 7-3 MIAA mark to sit at third in the conference standings. Trine improves to 17-2 and 9-1 in conference play for second place in the MIAA. Calvin was picked to finish third in the MIAA preseason coaches' poll, while Trine is the preseason favorite. The Thunder won the first meeting of the year in December, defeating the Knights 50-47.
Calvin leads all-time series against Trine 23-8.
The Thunder jumped out to a 9-0 lead, forcing Calvin to call a timeout less than three minutes into the contest. Trine held the Knights scoreless for the first five minutes of play.
Four straight points by senior Ali Spayde (Lewis Center, Ohio/Worthington Christian) made the score 11-5 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter. Senior Bre Luurtsema (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) followed with a bucket to cut the deficit to four points, but the Thunder responded with a five-point run to lead 16-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Calvin started the second quarter by scoring six straight points, courtesy of junior Logan Winton (Fairview, Mich./Fairview) and Spayde, to make it 16-13 game. Trine built its lead to seven as the midpoint of the half neared. The two teams exchanged points until the final seconds of the half as the Thunder closed out the quarter with four straight points.
The Knights pushed back in the third quarter, outscoring the Thunder 16-9. Luurtsema scored the first points of the half to make it a single-digit game. After a Trine three-pointer, Spayde responded by converting on a three-point play followed by a triple of her own. Winton and Luurtsema added two points apiece to the Knights' run to make the score 33-31, still in favor of the Thunder. Calvin held Trine scoreless for over four minutes during the scoring surge.
The Thunder answered with six straight points to regain an eight-point lead, but the Knights closed out the third quarter with back-to-back buckets to trail 39-35 heading into the final quarter.
After a pair of Trine free throws, Luurtsema went four-for-four from the line to bring the score to 41-39. A Thunder free throw couldn't halt Calvin's momentum. Spayde made a layup to bring Calvin within one point, and junior Becca Richards (Fort Gratiot, Mich./Port Huron) drained a three to give the Knights a 42-44 lead with five minutes remaining.
Trine used seven straight points to retake a 49-44 lead and force a Calvin timeout. A pair of free throws by Spayde made it a one-possession game with 35 seconds left on the clock. The Knights were unable to get off a tying shot, and the Thunder claimed a three-point victory over Calvin for the second time this season.
Spayde led Calvin in scoring with 24 points. Luurtsema contributed 11 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Nicole Meyer (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower) posted a career-high 11 rebounds, while Winton added with six points and four boards.
The Knights are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Adrian to take on the Bulldogs (8-10, 5-5 MIAA). Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.

MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-24-18

Hope 9-0
Trine 9-1
Calvin 7-3
Albion 6-4
Adrian 5-5
Kalamazoo 3-6
Saint Mary's 3-7
Olivet 1-9
Alma 1-9

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Olivet 79, Calvin 71

OLIVET, Mich. - The Comets of Olivet remained in first place in the MIAA standings with a 79-71 victory over the Knights.
The Knights opened the game on a 7-2 run on Wednesday. Junior Austin Bykerk (Jenison, Mich./Unity Christian) scored the first five points of the game for Calvin.
The Comets responded with a 10-0 run to reclaim the lead.
A three-point basket from junior Jason Walter (Coloma, Mich./Coloma) cut the Olivet lead to 20-18. However, the Comets responded with a 9-2 run.
Olivet went into halftime with a 42-30 lead.
The Maroon and Gold opened the second half with a 5-0 run, with baskets from Jason Walter and Derrick DeVries.
The Knights would cut the Olivet lead to four points on two occasions, but could not get any closer.
Sophomore Derrick DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Covenant Christian) led the Knights with 23 points on Wednesday.
Austin Bykerk recorded his second double-double of the season with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, tying his career-high.
The Knights held a 40-31 rebounding advantage.
Calvin returns to action on Saturday afternoon against Adrian at Van Noord Arena.

MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-24-18

Adrian 5-2
Olivet 5-2
Trine 5-2
Hope 4-3
Albion 3-4
Alma 3-4
Calvin 2-5
Kalamazoo 1-6
SOFTBALL

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Anna Gernant was named to the Fastpitch News Division III Preseason All-American Second Team on Tuesday.
A junior from West Des Moines, Iowa, Gernant was named a Division III All-American honorable mention in 2017 by Fastpitch News.
In 2017, Gernant broke the Calvin single-season record for strikeouts with 241 strikeouts in 145 innings of work. She finished fourth in the final 2017 NCAA Division III statistics in total strikeouts and third in strikeouts per seven innings (11.6).
In the circle, Gernant finished the 2017 season with a record of 15-8 and an earned run average of 1.58. She tossed five shutouts and tallied no-hitters against Edgewood College and Albion College and one-hitters against Kalamazoo College and Cornerstone University.
Her no-hit performance against Edgewood came in the Finlandia Dome Classic. Where she was named the Most Valuable Player. In the win over Edgewood and also in a follow-up win over Lakeland College the following afternoon she amassed 18 strikeouts, setting a new Calvin single-game strikeout record. For her performance, she was named the MIAA Pitcher of the Week.
During the final week of the NCAA III regular season, she was named the NFCA Division III National Pitcher of the Week.
She was named to the NFCA Division III All-Central Region Third Team and All-MIAA First Team.
Received on Wed Jan 24 22:48:06 2018