ALBION, Mich. - This afternoon the Calvin women's basketball team was tripped up on the road when they fell to Albion 52-55. After today's game the Knights fall to 9-7 overall and 4-3 in MIAA play while Albion improved to 4-3 in conference play and 11-5 overall. 
 
In the first quarter, despite the Lydia Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) getting out to their usual hot start down low the Brits took an early lead as they outscored the Knights 14-10. 
 
Looking to bounce back, Rohrer converted on two quick mid-range jumpers before sophomore Gabby Halliwill (Charlotte, Mich./Lansing Catholic) sank a shot from beyond the arc to cut the Albion led to one. However, the Brits closed out the half on a 14-5 scoring run and Calvin headed into halftime trailing 24-34.
 
As the second half got underway Calvin found their offensive groove with Rohrer and Katelyn LaRue (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) leading the charge as they notched six and seven points, respectively in the third quarter. Defensively, the Knights held Albion to just a 14.3 shooting percentage in the quarter, their lowest of the game. Calvin outscored Albion 17-4 in the quarter and with forty-three second left senior Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) nailed a pull-up jumper to give the Knights their first lead of the game.
 
Calvin held a slim 41-38 heading into the final ten minutes of play before a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter put the Brits right back in the driver's seat. From that point forward both teams traded baskets as they battled for momentum down the stretch. With nine second left on the clock and trailing by three the Knights called a timeout to draw up a final play. Calvin took the ball out of bounds under their own basket and quickly found Fernandez on the wing. Rohrer came out to set a screen and Fernandez took one quick dribble to the left before stepping behind the three-point line to fire a final shot. Unfortunately for the Knights, the ball bounced off the rim and fell to the wayside and Calvin was defeated 55-52. 
 
Rohrer filled the stat sheet as she finished with sixteen points, six rebounds, five steals, and one block while Fernandez notched eleven points and six rebounds. Sall chipped in nine points and a team high seven rebounds while LaRue finished with nine points and six rebounds.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "Credit to Albion," said head coach Mark Christner. "The goal of games is to avoid the result coming down to a make/miss shot situation. Albion made theirs, we missed ours. But we didn't play well enough over four quarters to get the result. Disappointing for sure. We need to try and fix some things ASAP."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Wednesday, January 7th when they travel to Angola, Indiana to take on Trine at 7 PM.