By Andrea Schutter

Associate Editor

In their first home performance of the season, the Knights grabbed a 63-56 victory over Grace College of Indiana Tuesday night at the Calvin Fieldhouse. The victory was the second straight for the Calvin women's basketball team and lifted its record to 3-2 overall. In addition, the game served as a milestone for Calvin women's basketball coach Kim Gall, who recorded her 200th collegiate victory with the win.

The Knights expected the Lancers to put up a good fight, but they were able to use their depth as a team to their advantage.

``Grace has a very scrappy team, and we knew they would never quit,'' said Gall. ``This proved to be true by the close score throughout the game.''

Calvin struggled from the field, shooting just 38 percent overall including just 36 percent in the first half. Calvin led 29-25 at halftime but fell behind early in the second half. They trailed the Lancers 45-42 with 10:29 left in regulation. Junior guard Tricia Dyk then ignited a 7-0 Calvin scoring run with a steal and a lay-up to bring the Knights within one point. She then fed sophomore teammate Kim Wolthuis for a go-ahead jump shot that put Calvin up 46-45. Seconds later, Dyk assisted sophomore teammate Liz Seitsema on a three-point play that put Calvin up by four. After Grace came back to tie the game at 49-49, Calvin took the lead for good on a free throw by junior Emily Beard with 4:38 remaining on the clock. Dyk then fed Wolthuis for a critical three-pointer with 2:23 left which gave Calvin a 57-50 lead. A minute later, Dyk helped to put the game away with a spinning jump shot in the lane which put the Knights up by nine at 61-52.

``Tricia had an all-around great game not only in points, but also in assists, steals, rebounds, and blocks,'' said Gall.

Dyk came up with one of the finest all-around performances of her career, leading the team with a season-high 20 points. She dished out seven assists, collected seven steals, six rebounds and three blocked shots. Dyk was 9-of-17 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line. Kim Wolthuis added 15 points for Calvin, and Beard, Sietsema, and sophomore Katie Corner chipped in with seven points apiece. Gall commended the efforts of her team to stay strong on defense and make key plays necessary for the win.

``We had good pressure defense and we were able to transition and push tempo,'' said Gall. ``Our goal was to tire them out.''

Even though the Knights are a young team, Gall expressed great confidence in the abilities and potential of each player. The Knights proved their talent in Tuesday's competition, and each team member played a significant role in the win. ``We have new people playing minutes this year,'' said Gall. ``Everybody came together to contribute to the win.''

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Gall said. ``We need to get better every day and progress in the right direction. Every game is getting us ready for the conference finals.''

Calvin will now prepare to play Washington and Jefferson College of Pennsylvania in a first round game of the Lake Erie College Tournament Friday night at 6 p.m.