GREENCASTLE, Ind. - The Calvin University women's basketball team took down Otterbein University 68-53 on Saturday afternoon to close out its time at the DePauw Women's Basketball Tournament.
Calvin had a slight advantage with a 13-10 lead after one quarter of play. The Knights kept the momentum going as they opened the second quarter with a 12-3 run led by freshman Hannah Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian). Sall finished the half with 7 points while sophomore RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) and sophomore Lauren Vanderstelt (Plainwell, Mich./Plainwell) each had 6 points to give Calvin the 38-24 lead after the first half of play.
In the first half the Knights shot an impressive 50% from the field while also going 12-12 from the free throw line.
In the third quarter the Cardinals attempted to close the gap as they outscored the Knights 19-14. Otterbein shot 46.2% from the field and 50% from behind the three point line. However, despite their efforts, Calvin still held a commanding 52-43 lead as the quarter came to a close.
The Knights remained strong through the final quarter of play and emerged victorious 68-53. Calvin dominated in the paint outscoring Otterbein 30-20 and saw big contributions from their bench who recorded 27 points. The Knights finished with a 51.2 shooting percentage while holding the Cardinals to just 29.6 and shot 72.4% from the free throw line.
Rohrer finished as the leading scorer for Calvin with 13 points while Emma Witte (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and Valerie Dirkse (Vienna, Va./Marshall) contributed 12 points a piece. Sall finished with 11 points on the night. Witte was later named to the all-tournament team.
COACHES COMMENT: "I am really proud of our group," said head coach Mark Christner. "Today they demonstrated some resolve and grit, so a high quality response. Our bench provided awesome energy and production and we did a great job executing down the stretch. We will continue to improve."
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, November 25th when they take on UW-Whitewater in their first home game of the season. Tip-off is set for 4PM.
