GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's basketball team welcomed the Belle's to Saint Mary's to Van Noord Arena where they picked up their first win in MIAA play.
 
After today's game the Knights improved to 4-5 on the season and 1-1 in the MIAA while Saint Mary's fell to 3-5 and 0-1 in conference play.
 
As the first quarter got underway the Knight got out to a quick start. Sophomore Hannah Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) made her presence know early down low as she converted on two quick buckets to give Calvin the lead. The Knights kept the momentum on their side as they went on an 8-0 run where senior Valerie Dirkse (Vienna, Va./Marshall) and Lydia Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) both got in on the scoring action. 
 
Sophomore Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) picked up her first points of the game when she stole the ball after a Saint Mary's defensive rebound and finished of the play with a layup. After that Saint Mary's went on a bit of a run of their own as they worked to get themselves back into the game. With twenty second left in the quarter and the lead cut down to four, Fernandez gave Calvin a boost when she hit a three-pointer to make the score 16-9.
 
In the second quarter, the Knights really started to build on their lead starting when Fernandez grabbed an offensive board and kicked it out to a wide-open Chloe Wiegers (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) for three. Freshman Gabby Halliwill (Charlotte, Mich./Lansing Catholic) came alive with three minutes left in the quarter when she hit back-to-back three pointers to extend the Calvin lead.
 
The Knights shined on the defensive side of the ball as they continued to grab steals and disrupt the Belle's offensive by several shot clock violations. They also dominated the boards with senior Allie Mayes (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) giving Calvin plenty of second chances as she picked up five offensive rebounds. When the half ended, the Knights headed into the locker room with a comfortable sixteen-point lead over Saint Mary's.
 
Calvin kept their foot on the gas as they started the second half by going on an 8-0 run. Halfway through the quarter Saint Mary's tried to get their offense going as they picked up a quick six points before Halliwill converted on a jumper to give the momentum back to the Knights. From that play forward it was all Knights as they ended the quarter leading 52-23. 
 
In the fourth quarter, Calvin continued to score at will as sophomore Katelyn LaRue (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and freshman Jamie Custer (Galena, Ohio, Worthington Christian) both knocked down shots from downtown. A few possessions later, Grace Rosser (Allendale, Mich./Allendale) got her first points of the game when she converted on a three-pointer of her own before sophomore Jenna Williams (Big Rapids, Mich./Big Rapids) sank a pair of free throws. Calvin put an exclamation point on the game when freshman Lindsey Minderhoud (Grand Rapids, Mich./Covenant Christian) stole ball with sixteen second left to and made the fast break layup to give Calvin the 70-32 victory.
 
The Knight were able to get everyone on their roster minutes while thirteen different players got in on the scoring action. Fernandez led the way as she recorded thirteen points while Hannah Sall, LaRue, and Halliwill each chipped in eight points. 
 
The Knights dominated the boards, out rebounding the Belles 57-35. Twenty-nine of those rebounds where on the offensive end of the floor with Mayes behind responsible for seven of them.
 
Defensively, Calvin forced the Belles to make twenty-eight turnovers while recording a season high fourteen steals with Wiegers and Fernandez each having three. Dirkse and Hannah Sall continued to dominate down low as they each recorded three blocks.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "Winning is hard, and I thought that our group did a really good job on the defensive end today," said head coach Mark Christner. "I think the offensive piece must continue to come along and we saw some good strides there today. We challenged our group to use our defense to help us score and looking at points we scored off turnovers we can see that it was great for us tonight. I thought we did a better job at taking care of the ball and finding open shots to take."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Wednesday, December 11th when they travel to take on Adrian at 7:30PM.