By Gina de Haan

First place in the MIAA standing was on the line Wednesday night when the Calvin women's basketball team hosted rival Hope College.

Prior to tonight's contest, Calvin and Hope were tied with 14 MIAA regular season crowns apiece, leading the MIAA in most titles won. 

Calvin entered the game ranked sixth in the nation with a 23-0 overall record and a 14-0 conference mark. Hope, ranked 11^th nationally in the WBCA Coaches Poll and 13^th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, came into the contest with a 21-2 overall record, one game behind the Knights in conference action at 13-1.

The Knights defended their home court and defeated the Dutch 61-44. With this victory, Calvin clinched the outright MIAA title and earned the top seed in the MIAA tournament.

Both teams struggled to get their shots to fall early in the first half, but with just under thirteen minutes remaining, Anna Timmer hit a three-pointer to give the Knights a 5-4 lead.

Hope showed resilience, cutting Calvin's lead to four with 2:16 left to play in the first half, points courtesy of Llorens and Autumn Anderson. Neither team would score for the remainder of the half, and Calvin headed into the locker room with a 28-24 lead.

In the second half of the contest, the points came much quicker than in the first. With just under three minutes played in the half, Calvin was up 34-30 over Hope who struggled to prevent the Knights from further extending their lead. The Knights held the Dutch at 30 points for the next five minutes, scoring seven themselves.

Calvin led 41-30 after Timmer put in a layup to give her team a double digit lead, and forcing Hope to call timeout to halt the Knights' momentum.

Following the timeout, the Knights and Dutch went back-and-forth in scoring as the second half reached its midpoint. With 9:25 remaining, Kally Verkaik stole the ball from Hope's Rebekah Llorens in the backcourt and scored, earning back the double digit lead for Calvin (47-37). Kally's layup kicked off a seven-point Calvin run, which resulted in a 52-37 Knight lead with just under five minutes to play.

With 4:30 left to play, Hope called a full timeout. Out of the break, Dutch center Maura McAfee was fouled and converted on two free throws; shortly after, Llorens followed suit.

Sophomore Anna Timmer and junior Abby Springer scored for the Knights, earning back their 14-point lead. However, Llorens knocked down two more free throws with just over two-and-a-half minutes of play remaining causing Calvin to call timeout, the scoreboard now reading 55-43.

Springer scored quickly out of the break, and Hope Coach Brian Morehouse called his final timeout.

In the final two minutes of the game, Llorens scored the only point for the Dutch. Timmer and Acre scored two points apiece, giving the Knights a 17-point lead that they would hold until time expired.

Breanna Verkaik led the Knights with 14 points, also grabbing eight rebounds. Hannah Acre finished with a double-double, chipping in 11 points and 10 rebounds. Anna Timmer also scored 11 for the Knights and snagged seven boards. Kayla Engelhard contributed 10 points and six rebounds, while Abby Springer led Calvin with six assists and four steals.

26 of Hope's 44 points were scored by Rebekah Llorens, who also finished with 11 rebounds. Although the Knights held Maura McAfee to four points, she contributed to the effort with her 12 boards.

"It was a tough rivalry game. Obviously we didn't play as well as we would've liked to, especially on the offensive end," said Hope head coach Brian Morehouse. "They played well defensively, and as a result we just didn't put enough points on the board to win. We had a couple dry runs that really hurt us in the end," Morehouse said. "You have to shoot better than twenty-five percent to beat an undefeated team."

Hope was 9-29 from the field in the first half and only 5-28 in the second. The Dutch capitalized on only two of their nineteen attempted three-point baskets.

"Rivalry games are games of ebbs and flows," said high-scorer Llorens. "Calvin is undefeated for a reason and they showed that tonight."

Calvin women's head coach John Ross was proud of yet another feat accomplished by his close-knit team. "This is a really good Hope team and we held them to 44 points. We played with a lot of heart."

Calvin's defense played a big role in the victory, as the Knights held two of Hope's three leading scorers, Brittany Berry and Maura McAfee, to three and four points.

 "I think ulitmately it came down to communication," Breanna Verkaik said. "We talked really well out there tonight. We knew we had to bring the intensity, so we were ready for it."

Kayla Engelhard added, "All season we've talked about how our offense needs to come from our defense, and when we weren't shooting well early we really locked down."

The Knights were thankful for all of the fan support they received. "We have such a great support system here and I'm just so blessed to be part of it," Coach Ross reflects. Acre added, "To play in front of that many people on your home court was so encouraging."

Calvin now sits atop the MIAA possessing 15 regular season titles. This is Calvin's first MIAA regular season sweep over Hope since the 2007. Through 49 years and 112 games, Calvin now leads the rivalry series 68-44, 47-43 since women's basketball became an official MIAA sport in 1978-79.

The Knights remain undefeated on the season. Tonight's win marks Calvin's 24^th consecutive victory, the longest streak and best start in school history.

"All of this was a pretty big dream," said Breanna Verkaik, "Now it's come true and it's exciting. We are looking forward to the rest of the season and tournament play."

This coming Saturday, February 21^st, the Knights will host Kalamazoo in their final regular season game. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.