GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - This afternoon the Calvin women's basketball team welcomed the Belles of Saint Mary's to Van Noord Arena for a MIAA matchup. Right from the start the Knights dominated the game and were able to walk away with a commanding 79-33 victory.

After today's game the Knights move into a tie for second place in the MIAA standings with Trine at 7-2 in league play. With its win on Saturday, Calvin improved to 13-5 overall while stretching its win streak to eight games. The Belles of Saint Mary's fell to 5-13 overall and 2-7 in the MIAA.

As the first quarter got underway Saint Mary's settled into a zone defense in an attempt to clog the paint, a space where the Knights typically dominate. However, Calvin didn't waver as Valerie Dirkse (Vienna, Va./Marshall) connected with RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) on the block for the Knights' first points of the game. 

Halfway through the quarter, junior guard Emma Witte (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Chrsitian) made her return to the court after missing the last three games due to injury. She made an impact immediately as she hit midrange jumpers on the first two possessions she was in the game. Calvin closed out the quarter by going on a 19-5 scoring run capped off by a steal and layup by freshman Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy).

In the second quarter the Calvin defense remained strong as it only allowed the Belles to score eight points before halftime. In the first half the Knights forced Saint Mary's to make 10 turnovers and recorded nine blocks. Hannah Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and Dirkse each had three blocks apiece. 

The Knights started the second half with a 32-18 lead and continued to build upon it in the third quarter. Four minutes in, freshman Katelyn LaRue (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) nailed a three-pointer from the right wing. On the next Calvin possession, Fernandez was fouled while making a layup and converted the free throw to keep the momentum with the Knights. As the quarter came to an end Sami DeKuiper (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) got the ball on a fast break and passed it ahead to Lauren Vanderstelt (Plainwell, Mich./Plainwell) who sank a baseline jumper to extend the Knights lead to 56-28.

In the fourth quarter Calvin kept its foot on the gas as it outscored the Belles 23-5 on their way to a 79-33 victory. Late in the game several Knights got opportunities on the court including Grace Rosser (Allendale, Mich./Allendale) who hit a three from the left wing and transfer Sally Merrill (Hamilton, Mich./Hamilton) who scored her first points in the Maroon and Gold. By the end of the game all nineteen players on the Calvin roster got in the game with fourteen different players recorded at least a point.

Calvin finished the game with a 47.6 shooting percentage while holding Saint Mary's to a 20.4 shooting percentage. On defense, the Knights forced the Belles to make 19 turnovers while setting a new season high of 14 team blocks. Sall was responsible for five blocks while Dirkse had four.

Witte finished as the leading scorer for the Knights with 14 points with Rohrer being close behind with 12 points. LaRue capped off her night at 11 points while Fernandez finished with 7 points.

COACHES COMMENT: "I thought we played really well today," said head coach Mark Christner. "I thought our effort throughout the game was pretty consistent and obviously the defensive component in the second half was great. As we get down this final stretch of games every win becomes a little bit more important so that is something we are going to keep in mind as we head into a week where we play both Trine and Hope."

UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Wednesday, January 24th when they travel to Trine to take on the Thunder at 7:30PM.