CALVIN-BENEDICTINE - SMUGMUG PHOTO GALLERY

GRAND RAPIDS - The Calvin University women's basketball team made the most of its final non-conference tune up of the season with an 81-55 win over Benedictine on Tuesday at Van Noord Arena.

Calvin (15-3), ranked 20th in the most recent D3hoops.com poll, was dominant from the start as it led 25-10 after one quarter and never allowed Benedictine (6-11) within 10 points the rest of the game.

The starters got the Knights off to a strong start, as Leah Harris (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star) scored six points in the opening quarter while Gabby Timmer (Caledonia, Mich./South Christian) and Sydney Cleary (Middleville, Mich./South Christian) each scored five points.

The reserves came through in the second quarter as the Calvin bench out-scored the Eagles' reserves 12-5 to push the Knights' lead to 47-21 at the half.

The bench continued its strong showing in the second half with 27 points in the final two quarters, led by RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) and Adelaide Douglass (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) with seven points apiece.

Calvin shot 47.7 percent from the field for the game, including 43.8 percent (7-16) from beyond the three-point arc. Defensively, the Knights held the Eagles to 36.4 percent while forcing 18 turnovers that turned into 28 points on the other end. 

The Knights also held a 46-16 advantage in the paint and out-scored the Eagles 19-5 in second-chance points. 

All 17 available players saw game action for the Knights, with 13 of those 17 scoring. Harris led all players with 11 points in 18 minutes, while Sara Nealy (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor Christian), Timmer and Douglass each finished with nine points. 

Timmer also grabbed six rebounds, moving her six shy of tying the Calvin record for career rebounds. 

COACH'S COMMENT: "A really efficient performance for us," Calvin head women's basketball coach Mark Christner said. "This was a challenging game from an intensity and mental aspect. You get into the rhythm of the league schedule, and all of a sudden you pop up on a Tuesday and play a young team that's been better as of late in Benedictine. I thought we did two things really well. I thought we moved the ball, took care of it, and were able to use our advantage inside. Then, I thought we did a nice job on the defensive glass against a pretty good offensive rebounding team. Hopefully that bodes well for an important game tomorrow against Adrian."

NEXT UP: Calvin women's basketball returns to MIAA play tomorrow (Wednesday, January 25) when it hosts Adrian in a game scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.