GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Calvin dropped a 64-55 decision to ninth-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater Saturday afternoon at Van Noord Arena.
 
Calvin matched the visiting Warhawks (6-0) on nearly even terms for three quarters of play as the Knights (3-2) trailed 32-30 at halftime and 44-41 at the end of three quarters.

Whitewater scored the first four six points of the fourth quarter to build a 50-41 lead and forced the Knights to chase from that point on.

Calvin battled foul trouble for much of the game as the Knights committed 29 turnovers, had one player foul out and had four players saddled with four fouls.

Whitewater connected on 21 of 30 (.700) while Calvin was 15 of 20 (.750) at the stripe.

Calvin led 21-18 at the end of one quarter of play on a three-pointer at the first quarter buzzer by sophomore Sami DeKuiper (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS). The Knights stretched their lead to 25-18 on baskets inside the paint by freshman Hannah Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) and sophomore RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington HS).

Whitewater answered with an 11-2 scoring run to lead 29-27 late in the second. Calvin regained the lead at 30-29 on a three-pointer by sophomore Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) to take a 30-29 lead but went scoreless over the final 2:50 of the half with the Warhawks finishing the quarter on a 3-0 run to lead by two at the break.

Calvin later trailed by 13 at 56-43 early in the fourth quarter but the Knights chipped back into the deficit, trailing by eight with just over a minute remaining. Whitewater sealed the game with four free throws in the final minute.

Calvin was led in defeat by junior Emma Witte (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) with 12 points. Hannah Sall had nine points. Rohrer had eight points and five boards. Junior Val Dirkse had six points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Calvin shot 31.5 percent from the field while Whitewater shot 39.5 percent. Calvin did hold a 40-36 rebounding advantage.

COACHES COMMENT: "I think Wisconsin-Whitewater is a really strong team that is well-coached," said Calvin head women's basketball coach Mark Christner. "I thought our effort was good and our defense for the most part was good but we have to figure out a way to defend without fouling as much as we did today. A game like this is good for our young team. We've been stressing to our group that it needs to increase its competitive stamina and today I thought we did that. We have to continue to grow and improve. The games coming up will continue to be challenging."

NEXT UP: Calvin will host 17^th-ranked Trine next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Van Noord Arena in the MIAA opener for both teams.