GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's basketball team improved to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in MIAA after defeating the Hornets of Kalamazoo 66-45 at Van Noord Arena in a game that was sponsored by the DeNooyer Automotive Family.  
 
The Knights continued their season tradition of starting the game strong as they shot an impressive 63.6 percent from the field and 60.0 percent from behind the arc. Junior RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) got rolling early down low while Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy), who entered the game ten points shy of 1,000 career points, got her first bucket when she drained a shot from downtown. Defensively, the Knights held Kalamazoo to just a 23.1 shooting percentage and ended the quarter with a 20-8 point lead.
 
Led by Rohrer and fellow junior Lydia Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), Calvin continued to dominate the paint as it outscored the Hornets 10-4 down low in the second quarter. The Knights continued to make life hard for the Hornets offense as they forced seven turnovers in the first half and headed into halftime with a commanding 36-19 lead.
 
In the third quarter, Calvin continued to keep its foot on the gas as it seemingly scored at will. Fernandez scored two quick baskets out of the break and with 6:20 left in the third quarter, she nailed a 3-pointer over a Kalamazoo defender to break the 1,000-career points threshold. Junior Ashley Raredon (Caledonia, Mich./South Christian) and senior Sami DeKuiper (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) also got in on the scoring as the Knights continued to stretch their lead over the Hornets.
 
Calvin continued to work on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter as it went on to claim the 64-45 victory over Kalamazoo. The Knights outscored the Hornets in the paint 36-20 while holding Kalamazoo to just a 34.0 shooting percentage on the evening. Calvin forced fourteen turnovers and saw big contributions from its bench as it was responsible for 22 points.
 
Rohrer finished her evening leading the Knights with 15 points and nine rebounds while Sall chipped in 10 points, two steals, and three blocks. Fernandez notched 12 points and two steals while Raredon chipped in eight points.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "I was pleased with our ability to defend and did a nice job squeezing the lane a bit," said head coach Mark Christner. "We were able to hold them to shooting below 30 percent in the first half and were able to rebound well and go. I think we can be pretty dangerous when we are able to find open looks and we had good pace, especially in the first three quarters in terms of ball movement. Pretty complete job tonight."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, January 17th when they hit the road to take on Albion at 1 PM.