Box Score by Greg Chandler
The Hope College women's basketball team scored a historic victory Saturday afternoon in its rivalry with Calvin University, as the Flying Dutch defeated Knights, 89-56, for their 39th consecutive win over two seasons.
Hope, now 4-0 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and 10-0 overall, face a critical conference road test Wednesday night at Trine University in a battle of teams ranked in the top five nationally by d3hoops.com. Hope is ranked No. 1 while the Thunder are No. 5. Tipoff from the MTI Center in Angola, Indiana, is 7:30 p.m.
The win was Hope's 10th straight over Calvin dating back to 2017, giving the Flying Dutch their longest winning streak ever in The Rivalry that dates back to 1965. The previous record winning streak for Hope was nine straight between 2000-04.
The Flying Dutch also equaled a record for most points ever against Calvin, matching the 89 points they scored in an 89-51 win in 2003.
"I think it's a privilege to play in this game," head coach Brian Morehouse said. "I told our players that before the game. One of the big reasons they come to Hope is to be able to play in the Hope-Calvin rivalry. I think that you have to do your part, as a participant in The Rivalry, to dive on the floor and do all the tough things, and I thought we did those today."
The Knights, who only trailed Hope by four points after three quarters back on Jan. 30 in the Flying Dutch's 74-58 win, hit three of their first four shots to take a quick 7-4 lead before the game was two minutes old.
But Hope quickly responded, running off 10 unanswered points to take a 14-7 advantage midway through the first quarter. Calvin came back with five straight points to cut the lead to 14-12 with 2:44 left in the quarter.
It was then that Hope ramped up its defensive intensity. The Flying Dutch forced 13 straight missed shots by the Knights over the next 10 minutes, ripping off a 23-2 run to take a 37-14 lead with 2:30 remaining in the first half.
"It's just a mentality. We wanted to pick it up," said senior guard Kenedy Schoonveld, pictured right, of Zeeland, Michigan (Holland Christian HS), who scored six points during that run. "Our second group came in and was really good. I think that ignited a spark in us on the bench."
Hope led 42-18 at halftime, limiting Calvin to 23 percent shooting from the field (7 of 31) and forcing 10 turnovers.
"I think we started doing a better job of getting in the help side. I thought our ball pressure was a lot better after about four minutes of the first quarter. I think the second quarter ball pressure and the denies were much better. We made every catch difficult and we challenged every shot," Morehouse said.
The Flying Dutch led by as many as 37 points in the second half in cruising to the victory.
Hope shot 48.5 percent from the field (33 of 68) and hit eight 3-point baskets. They also outrebounded the Knights 42-31 and forced 19 turnovers, turning those miscues into 20 points.
Schoonveld, who has never lost to Calvin in her career, led three Hope players in double figures with 14 points, hitting 5-of-6 shots from the field. Over her last five games, she is shooting 63 percent from the floor (19 of 30).
"We view it as a privilege to be able to play in a rivalry this big, and we always know it's going to be a good game – every single year, every single game that we play against them," she said. "I think we cherish the opportunity to play here and play them at home as well. It's really cool. It's been a fun ride."
Senior center Olivia Voskuil of Holland, Michigan (Holland Christian HS) added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Sydney Muller of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Grand Rapids Christian HS) contributed 12 points as well.
Senior guard Lauren Newman of Flushing, Michigan (Flushing HS) dished out five assists while sophomore guard Meg Morehouse of Zeeland, Michigan (Zeeland East HS) grabbed six rebounds to tie Voskuil for the team lead in that category.
Calvin leads the all-time series over Hope 71-56, but the Flying Dutch are 42-15 against the Knights since 2000.
