FOREST GROVE, Mich - The Calvin women's basketball team completed its trip to the west coast with a 67-63 victory against Pacific University.

In the first quarter the teams proved that they were very evenly matched as they traded baskets and battled for control. Sophomore RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) asserted herself early as she scored six points within the first ten minutes of play. In the first quarter the Knights shot 33 percent from the field but headed into the second quarter trailing 11-18.

In the second quarter Calvin began to string things together on offense as it dug its way out of the hole. Freshman Katelyn LaRue (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) came off the bench and provided a substantial boost with her five points. Junior Valerie Dirkse (Vienna, Va./Marshall) also came alive by scoring four points in the second and helped close the gap as the Knights trailed 35-33 heading into halftime.

In the first half Calvin shot 53.3 percent from the field while the Boxers of Pacific University shot 57.1 percent. However, the Knights outrebounded Pacific 19-14 and scored nine points off of second chance efforts.

As the third quarter got underway the Knights took the lead four minutes in when Emma Witte (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) hit a shot from behind the arc. On the next possession Dirkse picked up a steal on the defensive end before tossing it ahead to Witte who extended the lead to 42-37 for the Knights. At the end of the quarter junior Sophie Sensenig (Grayslake, Ill./Westlake) nailed a three-point jumper before connecting on a midway jumper to give the Knights the 50-45 lead at the end of the quarter.

In the fourth quarter the teams remained neck-and-neck and with less than a minute to go things were all tied up at 63-63. After making a stand on defense the Knights called a timeout to claim possession in their own territory. After inbounding the ball and moving it around, Dirkse found Rohrer who spun away from her defender and made a wide open layup to give the Knights the lead. With ten seconds left on the clock Calvin locked in on defense to pick up the stop and eventually walked away with the 67-63 victory.

With tonight's win the Knights improved to an 8-5 overall record while Pacific fell to 5-5. Calvin finished up the game shooting 50 percent from the field while holding the Boxers to a 44.6 shooting percentage. 

Two Knights recorded career highs tonight as Witte finished with 16 points and Rohrer scored 15 points. Dirkse finished up with 7 points while LaRue had 6 points. Sensenig chipped in 5 points while Lauren Vanderstelt, Allie Mayes (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing), Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich/Plymouth Christian Academy), and Chloe Wiegers (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) all had a basket apiece. 

COACHES COMMENT: "I want to thank Dr. Timer and our administration at Calvin that believes in the value of these trips," said head coach Mark Christner. "Our players have learned so much about competing together in these two games. We are proud to coach this group. A great response tonight versus a very skilled and experienced Pacific team. Happy New Year, Knight Nation!"

UP NEXT: Calvin will be back in action in the new year when they travel to Adrian on January 3rd for a 6PM tipoff.