ALBION, Mich. - The Calvin women's basketball team finished the regular season on a strong note with a 71-65 win at Albion College on Saturday.

The two teams entered the day playing to be the number-three seed in next week's MIAA Tournament. Calvin (20-5, 12-4 MIAA) won the opening match-up in January, but Albion (16-9, 10-6) had the inside track on the tiebreaker if it could defeat the Knights on Saturday.

Calvin jumped out to a great start and led 22-15 after the opening quarter, but foul trouble on seniors Gabby Timmer (Caledonia, Mich./South Christian) and Sydney Cleary (Middleville, Mich./South Christian) helped the Britons close the gap and cut the Knights' lead to 31-28 at the half.

Timmer led the Knights with eight points in the opening half, while Cleary, Leah Harris (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star) and RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) each scored six points apiece.

The Knights got the offense back on track in the third quarter as they shot 50.0 percent from the field and from beyond the three-point arc to extend their lead to 54-46 after three quarters.

Albion opened the fourth quarter with five straight points to cut its deficit to three (54-51), but Calvin responded with an 8-0 run of its own to push the lead into double figures. The Britons battled to stay in the game, but could never get the Calvin lead inside of five points the rest of the way.

While the Knights were held to 40.9 percent shooting overall, the offense did a terrific job of maximizing each possession. Calvin committed only six turnovers in the game and turned 14 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points. 

Timmer finished with a game-high 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the 53rd double-double of her career. She also scored her 2,000th career point in the game, making her just the second player in program history to reach that milestone. For more on Timmer's newest milestone, click here. 

Harris and Sara Nealy (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor Christian) joined Timmer in double figures with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Valerie Dirkse (Vienna, Va./Marshall) was everywhere defensively and in the paint, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking three shots, while Cleary dished out a game-high six assists to go with her eight points and seven rebounds.

The win was Calvin's 20th of the season, marking the first time the program has won at least 20 games since the 2016-17 season. 

COACH'S COMMENT: "Great win for our program," Calvin head women's basketball coach Mark Christner said. "Albion was previously undefeated at home in league play. The rebounding piece was so important today. We took care of the ball. I'm honored to coach this group of tough women. 20 wins is pretty cool, and we have a big week upcoming to go do something fun. Go Calvin!" 

NEXT UP: Calvin women's basketball will return to action on Tuesday, February 21, when it hosts Adrian in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament.