By Gina de Haan

On Saturday afternoon, the Calvin women's basketball team welcomed conference opponent Kalamazoo to Van Noord Arena for the teams' second meeting of the season.

The first matchup of the season took place on December 2nd at Kalamazoo's Anderson Athletic Center, and it was the visiting Knights who claimed an 81-65 victory over the Hornets.

No. 15 ranked Calvin entered Saturday's contest 12-4, with a 7-1 MIAA record. The Knights were looking to recover from their first conference loss as they fell to rival Hope College this past Wednesday by a score of 75-47. Also looking to bounce back from a Wednesday defeat were the Hornets, who fell 75-49 to non-conference opponent Rochester College. The Hornets are 6-11 overall, with a 3-5 conference mark.

The Knights got back on the winning train and earned their sixteenth consecutive victory over the Hornets, claiming a 76-44 win at home.

Kalamazoo's leading scorer Grace Smith recorded the first points of the game, but Calvin responded with seven points of its own. Senior Abby Springer (Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills HS) answered with a quick bucket in the paint and sophomore Ali Spayde (Lewis Center, OH/Worthington Christian HS) added five straight points off a steal that led to two made free throws and a deep three-pointer that came half-way through the quarter.

In the following two minutes, the Knights scored nine points while holding the Hornets to four. After an offensive rebound and put back from Bre Luurtsema (Holland/Holland Christian HS), Calvin had a 16-6 lead and Kalamazoo called its first timeout with 2:58 left in the first quarter.

Out of the break, Kalamazoo's Amanda Moss put in a layup, but junior Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) quickly halted the Hornets' momentum. Timmer scored six consecutive points, forcing another Kalamazoo timeout.

Although the Hornets would score three points more before the end of the first quarter, a late four points by freshman Emily VanVliet (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) would extend Calvin's lead to 15 heading into the second quarter, the score 26-11.

A slow second quarter start by the Knights proved to be unimportant as the home team outscored its opponents 18-9. After being held scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the quarter, VanVliet broke Calvin's dry spell with a made jump shot, the scoreboard reading 28-13 with 6:12 to play before the halftime break.

A Hornets bucket by Claire Slaughter was soon answered by a three-point play by Luurtsema and a three-pointer by junior Lauren Goldthorpe (St. Ignace/St. Ignace HS) to make the score 34-15 in favor of the Knights.

Backed by seven points from Timmer late in the quarter, the home team rolled into halftime with a 44-20 lead.

By the break, Timmer had racked up 16 points and snagged five rebounds, three of those offensive boards. Spayde had seven points, Kally Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) earned four steals and three blocks and Luurtsema had five points and five boards.

The Hornets showed some resilience in the third quarter, but ultimately were outscored 19-13 by their hosts. After Kalamazoo cut Calvin's lead to 18 (51-33) just over halfway through the quarter, head coach John Ross called timeout. The Hornets wouldn't score the remainder of the quarter.

Another three-point play by Luurtsema followed by a Spayde triple made brought the score to 57-33 in Calvin's favor. Timmer added four more points and a layup by Tiffany Karger gave the Knights a 30-point lead (63-33) heading into the fourth quarter.

The Knights' bench held on to the team's lead in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Hornets 13-11.

"It was a good bounce-back win for our team today," said Ross. "We played with confidence and we played with energy. We played Calvin basketball today and I am very pleased with my team's performance."

Timmer led all scorers with 22 points (9-13 FG, 1-2 3pt, 3-4 FT), also finishing with seven rebounds and four steals. Spayde followed adding 13 points, while Luurtsema and VanVliet had 8 apiece. Luurtsema led the Knights in rebounding with 8 boards, while VanVliet recorded her career-high in scoring.

Kally Verkaik had a solid all-around game, scoring only three points but recorded seven rebounds, six assists, six steals and three blocks.

The Knights' bench contributed 26 points in the winning effort.

Calvin forced 29 Kalamazoo turnovers and outrebounded its visitors 51-40.

On Wednesday, the Knights are on the road, facing off against Saint Mary's in another MIAA matchup. In its first contest against the Belles, Calvin was victorious, earning a 91-45 win. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.