HOLLAND, Mich. — On a night when the Hope College women's basketball team made less than 30 percent of its shots from the field, the Flying Dutch more than made up for it by doing what head coach Brian Morehouse called "the tough things" - playing tenacious defense and relentless effort on the boards.
It all added up to a 52-32 victory over arch-rival Calvin University Saturday night in front of more than 1,400 fans at DeVos Fieldhouse, the Flying Dutch's 17th straight win in The Rivalry dating back to 2017.
"For three days, we talked about resilience, persistence and toughness, and what are those words look like acted out on the court, and I think you just saw that," Morehouse said after the game.
Hope, ranked No. 19 in the latest d3hoops.com poll, improved to 4-0 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play and 8-1 overall, while the Knights fell to 1-2 in the MIAA and 4-4 overall.
"We didn't win that game shooting. We didn't win any art prizes today. But we won toughness prizes today, and you know what? That travels, and that wins you championships," Morehouse said. "You're not always going to shoot your way to a championship. You gotta learn how to defend and rebound, and honestly, this team couldn't do that in October. They couldn't do that in early November. But they've grown, and that's the beautiful thing about having young players. They are getting a chance to grow up right in front of our face. Our fans are seeing it. (Our players) are starting to understand the value, not just in basketball resilience and persistence, but hopefully for life, resilience and persistence, and how they can apply that to their everyday lives."
The Flying Dutch defense was on point from the opening tip, holding Calvin without a point for the game's first five minutes as Hope took a 9-0 lead. Later in the first quarter, Hope went on a 11-0 run, featuring 3-point baskets by sophomore guard Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, Illinois/Prairie Ridge) and junior guard Jada Garner (Midland, Michigan/H.H. Dow HS) and a three-point play by senior center Raven Jemison (Grand Rapids, Michigan/East Kentwood), and the Flying Dutch led 21-5 after the first 10 minutes.
Hope led 33-16 at the half. In the third quarter, the Flying Dutch managed just four points against a stout Calvin defense, but still led by 11 heading into the fourth quarter at 37-26.
Hope quenched any hopes of a Knights comeback early in the fourth quarter, as freshman guard Terin Maynard (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Jenison) scored on a layup, and junior center Courtney Lee (Fishers, Indiana/Indianapolis Heritage Christian) tallied back-to-back baskets to boost the Flying Dutch lead to 43-26.
The Flying Dutch limited Calvin to 25 percent shooting from the field (13 of 52), including just 2 of 14 on 3-point shots, out-rebounded the Knights 48-38 and forced 21 Calvin turnovers, which they converted into 15 points.
"We live and die by our toughness, and that's a focus we have every day, to come in and out-tough and out-compete the opponent, and we did that tonight," Garner said. "I think even though we're young, we've figured it out, and we're still competing with these teams. I think that shows that even though we're young, that doesn't really matter. We still know how to play together, and we still know how to compete, and I think that's the biggest thing."
Karlblom, one of five players starting their first Hope-Calvin game for the Flying Dutch, led Hope with 11 points, including three 3-point baskets in the first half. She also grabbed a career-high-tying seven rebounds. Garner added nine points, including a perfect 6-of-6 on free throws, and committed just one turnover in 29 points of action at the point. Lee added seven rebounds and Jemison six.
Hope shot 29 percent from the field (18 of 61) and was 5-of-15 on 3-point shots. The Flying Dutch were 11 of 18 from the line.
RyAnn Rohrer led Calvin with eight points.
After a week of exams next week, Hope returns to action Dec. 19 for the Post-Exam Jam against Augustana College (IL). Tip-off time is 7 p.m. Joining the Flying Dutch and Augustana for the tournament are MIAA member Alma College and Millikin University from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
