ANGOLA, IN - The 7th-ranked Calvin women's basketball used a red-hot first half to claim a 67-52 conference victory at Trine University Saturday afternoon. Calvin improves to 19-0 overall and to 10-0 in the MIAA with the win.

In the first half, Calvin connected on 10 of 18 attempts from three-point range to roar out to a 43-19 halftime lead.  Senior Breanna Verkaik and junior Kally Verkaik were part of a trio of three-pointers that gave Calvin a 29-13 lead and sophomore Tiffany Karger then connected on three consecutive triples followed by another trifecta by Breanna Verkaik that gave the Knights a 43-19 halftime advantage.

Trine (12-8 overall, 6-5 MIAA) closed down Calvin's perimeter attack in the second half and clawed its way all the way to within nine points at 52-43 with still over 10 minutes left in regulation.

Calvin responded with a flurry of free throws and some key buckets by Breanna Verkaik and senior Kayla Engelhard to bump the Knight lead back to 16 points and help seal the win.

"Trine is a very strong team with two of their losses this year coming against Division I opponents," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "We got into a real rhythm in the first half from outside but Trine was able to dictate the tempo of the game more in the second half and it turned into more of a grind. We have had several close games down here over the years so to come out with a double-digit win feels great."

Calvin was led in the win by Breanna Verkaik who had 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting including 3 of 4 from three-point range. Karger had nine points while Engelhard had eight. Kally Verkaik, Hannah Acre and Anna Timmer had seven points apiece.

Trine was led in scoring by Whitney Shaffer with 14 points while Ashley Elliott had 10 points. Calvin outrebounded Trine 37-28 with Acre ripping down nine boards. Calvin was 10 of 20 from three-point range and 15 of 23 at the free throw line.

Calvin will host Olivet on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in a key conference game at Van Noord Arena.