DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Calvin women's basketball team jumped in front early and held off Wheaton (Ill.) late in a 72-68 win Friday at the Loras Holiday Tournament. 

Calvin (9-3) head coach Mark Christner talked about how important his team's response would be following Thursday's disappointing defeat to Loras, and his team was ready for the challenge defensively from the start of the game against the Thunder.

Wheaton (7-5) built an early 14-10 lead with 3:25 to play in the first quarter, but the Calvin defense held the Thunder scoreless over the next seven minutes to help the Knights to a 30-23 halftime lead.

Sara Nealy (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor Christian) led the Knights with nine first-half points, while the Calvin defense held Wheaton to 30.0 percent shooting and eight turnovers through two quarters.

The Knights began to pull away in the third quarter, as Gabby Timmer (Caledonia, Mich./South Christian) scored 10 points in the period and Calvin pushed its lead as high as 15 (46-31), but the Thunder got it back within striking distance at 48-40 heading into the fourth quarter.

The final quarter featured tremendous shooting on both sides, as the Thunder made 11 of their first 13 shots, while the Knights answered by shooting 11-14 from the field. Leah Harris (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star) came through with 10 big points in the quarter, helping the Knights hold off one last charge from the Thunder in the final minute to secure the win.

Calvin finished the game shooting 50.8 percent from the field while holding the Thunder to 41.9 percent. The Knights also forced 18 Wheaton turnovers and out-scored the Thunder 42-28 in the paint.

Timmer led all players with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and also grabbed her 1,000th career rebound in the game to become the third player in program history to reach that milestone.

Nealy finished with 15 points, while Sydney Cleary (Middleville, Mich./South Christian) and Harris added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

COACH'S COMMENT: "This was a really good win for us," Christner said. "Wheaton is a resilient group, but we showed great toughness and energy. It's not often both teams shoot 78 percent in the fourth quarter. I thought our poise and our connection was solid today. Now on to Albion."

NEXT UP: Calvin women's basketball returns to conference play on Wednesday, January 4, when it hosts Albion in a game scheduled to start at 6:00 PM.