Listen to Head Coach Brian Morehouse's Post-Game Interview | Read the 2021 Flying Dutch Season Preview

by Alan Babbitt

The Hope College women's basketball team celebrated the return to competition in triumphant fashion on Wednesday.

Playing for the first time in 319 days, the Flying Dutch dominated Concordia University Chicago for a 97-30 victory at DeVos Fieldhouse.

Hope jumped to a 53-12 halftime lead and rolled to its 21st consecutive victory in season-opening games.

"We were saying all day it's like a weird feeling because we haven't had a game day in so long," senior Kenedy Schoonveld said. "We were super excited to get back on the court. It was a lot of fun."

The game was the first on campus since the women's basketball team's dramatic come-from-behind victory against Illinois Wesleyan in the NCAA Tournament on March 7.

Schoonveld led the charge against Concordia Chicago, scoring 13 of her game-high 18 points during the first quarter. The guard from Zeeland, Michigan (Holland Christian HS) propelled the Flying Dutch to a 29-5 lead heading into the second quarter.

A returning All-American, Schoonveld also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Hope earned a 56-18 edge on the boards.

Offensively, the Flying Dutch put four players in double figures with unselfish play. Twenty-three of their 35 baskets had assists.

"Once we see the ball going into the hoop, it gets our energy up," said senior center Courteney Barnes of Mokena, Illinois (Lincoln-Way Central HS). "People feed off the energy and that just helps our confidence and motivation."

Barnes chipped in 14 points off the bench — her second-highest scoring game for Hope.

The Flying Dutch received 10 points apiece from senior forward Kate Majerus of Sycamore, Illinois (Sycamore) and senior guard Sydney Muller of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Grand Rapids Christian). 

The 10 points were a career-high for Majerus, a co-captain. It was the first game back for Muller, who missed the final 11 games of the 2019-20 unbeaten season due to injury.

"It was nice to get back out on the court and play and watch these women compete," head coach Brian Morehouse said. "I thought we had great energy to start the game and got off to a great start."

Morehouse was proud of how well his team adjusted to a different-looking DeVos Fieldhouse, absent of fans for now because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Flying Dutch played without the adoring and smiling faces of family and friends. Orange and blue signs featuring the names of fans who donated to the Hope Athletics Virtual "Ticket" campaign surrounded them on the court instead.

"I think we were really excited to be back, so it was kind of easy for us to have energy," Schoonveld said. "I think a lot of us mostly missed our parents. Our parents are hurting that they can't be here and are really bummed about that. We love each other like sisters. We just go to work for each other every day. We always have energy cheering each other on."