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Women's hoops down Olivet
By Ross Weener
Staff Writer
FILE PHOTO
The women's team huddles up at their game to plan their strategy.
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Consistency. It is the ingredient that separates good teams from great ones. Standing at 13-7 overall and 4-5 in the MIAA the lady Knights wonder just what they have. After winning nine of its first eleven games Calvin has begun to slip backwards, losing five of its next nine games, and sliding away from the consistent team they were two months ago. So with six games left in the season, one pertinent question remains. What face of this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde team will finish out the season?
It would be flat out wrong to say that the Knights aren’t having their best season in recent years, but they could be better. Rebounding has been the key in big wins, and the scapegoat in tough losses. In fact Calvin has been out-rebounded eight times this season, with six of those occasions being chalked up as losses. In wins the Knights are averaging 42 rebounds-per-game (rpg) while is losses only 35 rpg.
Shooting has also been a tender spot for the Knights, there have been times they have built large brick houses and other times where they can’t miss. Truth be told Calvin is shooting 34 percent from the floor in losses and a red hot 46 percent in victories. It is a very obvious fact that if you shoot the ball well and rebound well, you win most basketball games. The point of the statistical breakdown is to highlight how good a team Calvin can be, but also how poor they are when they fail to come to play. The Knights have the potential and the depth to run with any team in the MIAA night in and night out.
This past Wednesday the women chalked up another ‘W’, with a win over Olivet on the road. The victory, the first league road win of the year for the Knights, came right on the heels of a win over Kalamazoo last Saturday. Calvin was paced by super-sophomore Kristen McDonald who scored 21 points, four assists, and three steals. McDonald was 5-9 from the floor and 8-10 from the free-throw line. Senior Emily Beard scored 12 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds while fellow classmate Tricia Dyk added 13 points, seven steals, four rebounds, and three assists.
Calvin was outrebounded 46-37, but held the advantage in the turnover department, committing 14 turnovers to the 28 turnovers of the Comets. The Knights connected on 39.7 percent of their shots from the floor while netting 17-29 (58.6 %) chances from the free-throw line.
In the middle of a two game winning streak Calvin head coach Kim Gall wants to build on this momentum. “Right now we are in the up-swing, and we want to use what we have created to keep us moving forward. Wins in the league are major steps forward.”
With the top four team in the league gaining home court advantage for the first round of the MIAA tournament, Calvin desperately needs to find a way to get into the upper quartet of team. Currently sitting in sole possession fifth place, the Knights will have shots at most of the team still in front of them, but the task will not be easy.
“We are working very hard now to get into that 4th spot,” says Gall. “We are still trying to focus on one game at a time and not get too caught up in the results.”
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