by Greg Chandler

The Hope College women's basketball team rode hot shooting from the perimeter to advance to the sectional round of the NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament Saturday night at DeVos Fieldhouse.

No. 2-ranked Hope sank 12 3-point baskets in rolling to an 85-66 win over Marietta [Ohio] College in front of 1,987 fans at DeVos in a second-round NCAA tournament game.

Hope, now 28-1, will face the Big Blue of Millikin University (Illinois) in the sectional round this Friday at a site to be announced. Millikin advanced to the round of 16 on Saturday with a 59-56 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

The hottest hand of all was senior forward Kate Majerus of Sycamore, Illinois (Sycamore HS), pictured, who hit 6-of-10 from 3-point range on her way to a career-high 20-point performance.

Majerus' six 3-pointers are the most by any Hope player this season and the most by a member of the Flying Dutch since Brittany Berry's five during a 2015 second-round victory vs. Wisconsin Lutheran in Wheaton, Illinois.

"I think the opportunity to finally get on the court, to prove what we can bring to this tournament is super exciting," Majerus said. "It's definitely something that we have been waiting for over the past couple of years, and it's always definitely been in the back of our minds every time we're in the gym."

The Flying Dutch struggled to find their rhythm offensively against the Pioneers in the early going, trailing 10-5 seven minutes into the game. But then Hope started to exert its will, running off 11 unanswered points over a five-minute span, capped off by a driving layup by junior guard Ella McKinney of Haslett, Michigan (Haslett) for a 16-10 Hope lead.

Then Majerus got going, nailing 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions as the Flying Dutch lead grew to 28-16. Hope led 34-22 at the half.

Majerus, who led the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 3-point accuracy for the second year in a row, scored 11 points during a 30-point Flying Dutch third quarter, capped off by her fifth 3-pointer, as Hope led 64-48 heading into the final 10 minutes.

"We had a nice little chat in shootaround today. I just kind of checked in on her," head coach Brian Morehouse said of Majerus. "She should have great confidence. She knows she has it from her coach. I think the part that everybody overlooks is that she has become a really good defender. She guarded their best player tonight and nobody's talking about that. I think that was a big, big key for tonight, holding that young lady [Erin Hahn] to four points … Her calm and veteran leadership as a captain is remarkable."

The Flying Dutch led by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter in advancing to the sectional round of the NCAA tournament for the 12^th time during Coach Morehouse's tenure at Hope.

Four players scored in double figures for the Flying Dutch, led by Majerus' career night. McKinney added 17 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers.

"I'm just really excited for these two ladies because they work so doggone hard. They just epitomize our program with the time they spend in the gym with their coaches and doing skill development," Morehouse said.

Senior center Olivia Voskuil of Holland, Michigan (Holland Christian) added 11 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Kenedy Schoonveld of Zeeland, Michigan [Holland Christian HS] scored 10 points to move past Maura McAfee, who played for Hope from 2013-16, into fourth place on Hope's career scoring list with 1,414 points. Schoonveld also dished out four assists and had three steals.

Junior forward Claire Baguley of Ada, Michigan (Forest Hills Central) distributed five assists, while senior guard Sydney Muller of Grand Rapids, Michigan [Grand Rapids Christian HS] and senior forward Hannah Smith of Midland, Michigan [Midland HS] each grabbed six rebounds.

Senior guard Devin Hefner led Marietta, which finished at 22-6, with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. Junior guard Olivia Gribble added 12 points.