Photo by Jamie Olthoff Sophomore Tricia Dyk looks to pass the ball in the Calvin-Kalamazoo matchup at the Fieldhouse Wednesday night. Despite their efforts, the Knights fell, 58-54.

After a highly encouraging three-game winning streak earlier in Jan. against St. Mary’s, Adrian and Albion, the women’s basketball team has run into a line of tough losses over the past several games.

The Flying Dutch of Hope were responsible for the end of the Knights’ string of wins, defeating the Calvin women in a disappointing game on Jan. 20. Leading at halftime by a score of 25-16 , Hope maintained control of the scoreboard for the remainder of the match-up, holding Calvin to a 32.6 percent success rate from the floor. Junior Tara Bergsma led the Knights in scoring with eight points; junior Kendra Toonstra and sophomore Jennifer Plakmeyer each contributed six points to the Calvin effort.

The Knights went on to play Alma in the Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Jan. 24. Calvin managed to come within one point of the Scots on a three-point play by Toonstra shortly before the end of the first half and within two points with just 3:56 left in the game, but Alma managed to pull ahead each time. In spite of Toonstra’s ten points, the Scots secured the win, 52-45. Plakmeyer and sophomore Emily Mejeur also supported the team with nine points each.

Olivet came out on fire against the Knights last Saturday and scored the first 10 points of the game. Toonstra, who again led the team in scoring, brought Calvin within two points of the Comets with 4:37 left in the first half; however, the Knights still found themselves down 23-17 at the start of the third quarter. Plakmeyer brought the team within one point of Olivet with a layup in the last two minutes of the game, but Olivet pulled ahead before time ran out to defeat the Knights 41-35, dropping them to fourth place in the MIAA.

The Knights matched up against the Kalamazoo Hornets in a hard-fought game on Wednesday night. The lead bounced back and forth between the two teams throughout the match, neither side clearly holding the upper hand.

Led chiefly by Plakmeyer, the Knights managed to string together an unanswered ten-point run in the last six minutes of the first half to put Calvin up, 25-21. However, the Hornets came back with a run of their own and went into the locker room at the half leading 27-25. The battle continued on for the rest of the game. Mejeur and Plakmeyer teamed up to score three consecutive three pointers to tie the score at 35-35. However, the tide slowly turned against the Calvin women, and Kalamazoo walked away with the win, 58-54. Plakmeyer scored a game-high 27 points, and sophomore Emily Beard had seven points and 10 rebounds. Mary Jane Valade was the leading scorer for Kalamazoo with 22 points, as well as seven rebounds.

The loss drops the Knights from fourth to fifth place in the MIAA standings.

Head coach Kim Gall considers this to be a rebuilding season for her team. “We just plan to take it one day at a time, one practice at a time,” she commented. So far she has been pleased with the team’s effort overall.

“We’re all working really hard,” said Toonstra. “We didn’t lose because we’re not working hard... The shots just weren’t there and the games just went the other way.”

According to Gall, the team’s biggest weaknesses are simply inexperience and a lack of consistency, two things that will naturally improve with time. There are no seniors on the team. In fact, the majority of the team are underclassmen - four freshmen and five sophomores - who will all hopefully return next season with another year of play under their belts.

The Knights have also been plagued with injuries since the outset of the season, affecting vital players such as their point guard and center. However, the team is currently back up to 14 players on their roster.

Win or lose, the Knights will continue to persevere throughout the rest of the season. Watch for the Knights to overcome their obstacles as they continue through the rest of their season. Calvin will match up against St. Mary’s at 12:45 for the Homecoming game on Saturday afternoon.