HOLLAND, Mich. - Tonight the Calvin women's basketball team traveled to Holland, Mich. where it fell 65-55 to Trine in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament.

The Knights came out ready to get scrappy and got after things right away when they forced a jump ball turnover on Trine's first possession. Calvin took advantage of the opportunity as RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) sank a jumper at the other end and forced Trine to call an early timeout. 

After the break in play the Thunder looked to get things going but were quickly shut down when freshman Katelyn LaRue (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) drew a charge and gave the ball back to the Knights. On offense, Calvin continued to be led by Rohrer who finished the first quarter with 10 points and sophomore Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) who hit a big three with just over four minutes left in the quarter. Trine seemed to find its rhythm halfway through the quarter and after ten minutes of play the Knights held just a 14-11 lead.

In the second quarter the teams traded baskets as they both battled for momentum. Three minutes in, LaRue nailed a three to give the Knights a boost and two minutes later freshman Chloe Wiegers (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) found a wide open Valerie Dirkse (Vienna, Va./Marshall) down low for an easy bucket. With just over two minutes left in the quarter Fernandez hit her second three of the night but on the other end of the floor Trine seemed to have an answer for every Calvin basket. With thirty seconds left in the quarter Trine buried an end line three to make it a 27-27 game. The Knights quickly grabbed the ball and brought it up the floor where Hannah Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) drove through the lane to score right before the buzzer and give Calvin the 29-27 advantage heading into halftime.

In the first half the Knights put up a 34.4 shooting percentage and gathered eight points off of second chance efforts. On the defensive side of the ball, Calvin forced the Thunder to make six turnovers while Rohrer, Hannah Sall, and Lydia Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) all recorded a block.

Throughout the third quarter the teams remained neck-and-neck as they traded baskets. With three minutes left in the quarter the Knights claimed some momentum when Rohrer fought through contact for the basket and then sank the free throw to complete the three-point play. However, things evened out once again two minutes later when Trine hit a three-pointer to make the score 41-41. With thirty seconds left on the clock Trine was able to draw a foul and made one free throw to make things 42-41 and get their first lead of the game. The Knights grabbed the ball and quickly moved it down the floor hoping to run one last play in the quarter. However, as the buzzer sounded and in the midst of bodies, Rohrer hit the floor in the lane and departed the game with an injury.

As the fourth quarter got underway the Knights, now without their leading scorer, looked to find other ways to put points on the board. Trine looked to take advantage of the situation and stretched its lead to five points until Hannah Sall nailed a shot from the elbow for the Knights first basket of the quarter. A few possessions later Dirkse worked her way through the lane to add two points before LaRue converted on a three pointer to once again even things up at 50-50. 

After that Trine went on a 11-0 scoring run giving them the biggest lead of the game. With a minute left in the game LaRue hit her second three of the night and tried to give the Knights a boost of energy. However, despite Calvin's best efforts, the Thunder was accurate from the free throw line down the stretch and the Knights fell 65-55.

The Knights finished the night with a 33.9 shooting percentage while Trine posted a 41.5 shooting percentage. Calvin outrebounded the Thunder 38-29 with 17 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end of the floor.

Rohrer finished the night as the leading scorer for the Knights with 16 points and Fernandez chipped in 13 points. LaRue finished with 12 points while Dirkse and Hannah Sall each had 6 points. Wiegers contributed two points in the matchup.

COACHES COMMENTS: "Congrats to Trine," said head coach Mark Christner. "They were tough and I think that they did some things that got us on our heels a bit and we just ran out of gas. Obviously, not having RyAnn [Rohrer] down the stretch was hurtful but give a lot of credit to Trine. I'm really proud of our group and how they represent Calvin at such a high level. We had a lot of new faces this year and I'm not sure if people thought too highly of us to start and I thought we really came along and played well this year. Our captains Allie [Mayes] and Valerie [Dirkse] did an outstanding job this year creating cohesion and camaraderie. We had great contributions from so many people up and down the roster and while this one stings for sure I think this is just the beginning of something special. It's up to us to keep working and making good things happen."