The Hope College women's basketball team turned on the jets and propelled past the Bulldogs of Adrian, 84-54, on Wednesday night on the road.
The Flying Dutch moved within one victory of at least a share of a league title. Hope (22-2, 13-2 MIAA) faces off with Kalamazoo College on Saturday, Feb. 18, for a 1 p.m. game.
The Flying Dutch are tied for first place with Trine University. Trine (19-5, 13-2 MIAA) plays Adrian College (10-14, 6-9 MIAA) at home on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Against Adrian, senior Claire Baguley topped Hope with 27 points, a career-high tally. The forward from Ada, Michigan (Forest Hills Central HS) shot 83.3% from the field, and sank six of her seven free throw attempts.
"Claire was great, super efficient, she is the most efficient player in America right now, statistically, which is pretty amazing Division I, II, or III, to have that kind of efficiency," said head coach Brian Morehouse.
Hope overcame an early 7-0 deficit two minutes into the game.
After a couple of successful free throws from Savannah Feenstra, who gave the Flying Dutch their first points of the game, Baguley swooped in to begin her point journey with a layup to help swing the momentum in favor of Hope.
Freshman Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, Illinois / Prairie Ridge) would nail down a 3-point shot at the 6:27 mark to tie the game after Baguley found her open at the top of the arc. Baguley would then sink her own shot from 3-point land to put the Flying Dutch up for good with just under six minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Hope never looked back after gaining the lead over the Bulldogs as the road warriors then went on a 9-2 run to build their lead to 19 after the first quarter. The Flying Dutch were hot from behind the arc in the first 10 minutes, sending in five of six 3-point shots.
Baguley, along with a season-high point tally, also shared a game-high six rebounds for Hope, as well as a team-high three assists.
"One thing that really stood out for me tonight for Claire was her rebounding. I think that was a big thing. It's been something that she's focused on and has been improving, and I think tonight she really came through," said Morehouse.
Feenstra, a senior from Osceola, Indiana (NorthWood), grabbed 10 points for the Flying Dutch, and also nabbed six rebounds and three assists in the win.
Sophomore Jada Garner (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) notched 10 points off the bench for Hope, going 4-8 from the field including soaring in two of three attempts from behind the 3-point arc.
Junior Raven Jemison (Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Kentwood) also reeled in a game-high six rebounds against Adrian.
Hope finished the night after shooting 45.9% from the field, while Adrian was held to ust 32.1% field goal shooting.
