DE PERE, Wis. - Today the Calvin women's basketball team kicked off their 2024-25 season as they took on No. 13 Wisconsin-Stout at the St. Norbert Tournament. 
 
As the first quarter got underway senior Valerie Dirkse (Vienna, Va./Marshall) picked up the Knight's first points of the season as she converted a layup off an assist from Hannah Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian). Later, junior Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) got rolling as she knocked down a jumper and a pair of free throws. However, defensively, Calvin struggled to slow down the fast paced Blue Devils offense and trailed 34-8 after the first ten minutes of play.
 
In the second quarter, Calvin picked things up offensively as Katelyn LaRue (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), Lydia Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), Allie Mayes (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing), and Sophie Sensenig (Grayslake, Ill./Westlake Christian) all got in on the scoring action. While the Knight attempted to close the gap Wisconsin-Stout continued to show-off their shooting skills. The Blue Devils finished the half with a seventy percent field goal percentage while going 6-8 from behind the three point line and a comfortable 56-21 lead at the half.
 
In the second half, Wisconsin-Stout continued to extend their lead and the game ended with the Knights falling 40-73.
 
On offense, Calvin finished the game with a 30.8 shooting percentage compared to the Blue Devils 46.6 shooting percentage. Fernandez led the Knights in scoring as she finished the night with eleven points while LaRue was close behind with ten points. Defensively, Dirkse and Lydia Sall each recorded a block while Hannah Sall and Gabby Halliwill (Charlotte, Mich./Lansing Catholic) each had two steals.
 
COACHES COMMENT: "UW Stout certainly hit the ground running," said head coach Mark Christner. "Well coached, experienced group so congrats to them. We will bounce back, we have a resilient group. Stick with us."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action tomorrow for day two of the St. Norbert Tournament where they will take on host school, St. Norbert. Tipoff is set for 3PM (CST).