by Mackenzie McMahon

The Hope College women's basketball team took home its third straight MIAA title as the Flying Dutch became co-champions with a 94-23 win over Kalamazoo College on Saturday. 

With a 15-1 league record, Hope shared the title with Trine University and finish the regular season 23-1 overall. This title is the 20th overall in team history and the 17th under head coach Brian Morehouse. 

"I am proud of the 20th league championships and the consistency it shows for our program over the years," Morehouse said.

Hope's MIAA Championship Seasons

On Saturday, after a 3-pointer from Kalamazoo to start the game, Hope would put up 16 unanswered points. With three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Hope would go on another run, 10-2 this time, to finish with a 26-7 lead after one quarter.

Hope would go on to outscore Kalamazoo 19-7 in the second quarter, and 31-3 in the third quarter to keep their commanding lead the whole game. 

"We have been locked in for the last two weeks. Today, I thought we were even more locked in," Morehouse said. "We were just trying to build a great rhythm heading into the MIAA Tournament. We are playing together very well right now, and that was shown by our 25 assists on 33 baskets."

Junior Ella McKinney, pictured, had a team-high, and career-high 19 points off the bench. McKinney (Haslett, Michigan / Haslett HS) went 7 for 10 in the field, matching her career-high attempts, and drained four of six three pointers. 

Senior Kenedy Schoonveld collected 18 points for Hope College after going a perfect 7 for 7 in the field, 2 for 2 from the three point range, and 2 for 2 at the line. Junior Meg Morehouse chipped in 13 points towards the league title win. 

Seniors Sydney Muller and Hannah Smith led the Flying Dutch in rebounds, each with five. 

As a team, the orange and blue shot 50% from the field, 50% from behind the three point line, and 53.8% at the free throw line. 

The Flying Dutch head to the MIAA tournament, where they will host their first game, with to-be-determined opponent. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at DeVos Fieldhouse.