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Calvin women fall to Hope
By Mike Roorda
Sports Editor
FILE PHOTO
Soph. Brittney DeRoos runs to catch an opponent during Wed. night's game.
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The Hope women entered Calvin’s fieldhouse with an appetite for victory on Wednesday night and left well satisfied. To be sure, the Flying Dutch have a record to justify the 88-72 loss that they inflicted on the hapless Knights and the record is nothing to balk at. According to the d3hoops.com website, the Flying Dutch are currently ranked second in the nation and arrived sporting a more than impressive 22-game winning streak. They left the fieldhouse with their heads held high and the record streak at 23.
Before the game Coach Kim Gall said, “We need to play a complete game and get solid contributions from everyone.” It appears that it seemed to be easier said than done.
While it may or may not be a function of their skill and agility, Hope made Calvin look like they were playing sloppy ball. Calvin’s defense just couldn’t seem to pull it together long enough to be effective during the first half, and as a result gave up precious points. They seemed to collapse under the pressure and the Hope women had no shortage of opportunities to take it to the basket and put up some points.
The Knights’ offense also left something to be desired for the first half as well. Tricia Dyk received little support from her team but still managed to play as well as can be expected with a hand planted firmly in her face. Not to be shut down though, Dyk ended up leading with 17 points for the team by the end of the evening and had four steals to round things out. Given the circumstances and the tone and direction of the game, Dyk’s hard-driven attitude was impressive to watch.
At the half Calvin was staring at a 51-32 deficit and Hope showed no signs of letting up. To make matters worse, Hope seemed to be largely trying to rest most of their starters. The Flying Dutch soared ahead and then subbed out like it was a hockey game. The entire starting line sat and the second string all ran onto the court. If the Knights appeared to be closing the gap (i.e. getting within 20 points) the starting lineup then took the floor with the backups staging a mass exit. The effect mentally to those paying attention was much like a slap to the face.
During the second half, Calvin’s defensive and offensive game seemed to struggle for some footing as the Knights collectively tried to catch their breath and rally against the Dutch. Granted, they never ran ahead or made any real threats on Hope’s commanding lead, but there existed a scrappiness to their play that wasn’t there before. They began to elbow and jostle for position and play with their hearts in it again, and that is something that makes a game worth watching no matter what the score is. The end result in their newfound energy seemed to be consternation on the part of the Hope women, and one of them, Ashley Plowman to be specific, responded by promptly racking up three fouls in ten seconds.
In the end, the Flying Dutch outrebounded the Knights 47-35, but also gave up 19 turnovers as opposed to Calvin’s 13.
Another exemplary effort was put forth for the Calvin camp by Emily Beard who dropped in 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Katherine Pettinga chimed in with her career high 11 points in just thirteen minutes of gametime that she played.
The Knights now are looking to return to action on Saturday the fifteenth as they take on St. Mary’s in a league matchup scheduled for 3 p.m.
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