R.  Rohrer Game-tying basket at end of regulation / K. LaRue 3-point shot to tie game in overtime

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's basketball welcomed No. 9 Hope College to Van Noord Arena for the 142nd edition of The Rivalry. Despite a phenomenal defensive performance in the first half the Knights fell in an overtime heartbreaker to the Dutch with a score of 57-55. After today Calvin falls to 9-9 overall and 5-4 in MIAA place while Hope improves to 9-1 in conference play and 16-2 overall.
 
In the first quarter, the Knights got out to a hot start as jumpers from Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) and RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) as well as a pair of free throws from Katelyn LaRue (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) gave Calvin a quick 8-0 lead. On the other end of the floor, the Knights suffocated Hope on defense as Rohrer, Lydia Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), and Ashley Raredon (Caledonia, Mich./South Christian) all recorded blocks and Calvin notched six steals as a team. At the end of the quarter the Knights held a 13-4 lead with Hope's four points coming from the free throw line.
 
Calvin maintained its defensive intensity in the second quarter as it continued to keep the Hope offense out of rhythm. At the end of the first half, the Knights held the Dutch to a 4.8 shooting percentage as they went just 1-21 from the field.
 
Entering halftime, the Knights held a 25-11 advantage over the Hope. However, in the third quarter, Hope chipped away at the lead as it outscored the Knights 18-9. The Dutch outrebounded Calvin 12-7 in the third including eight offensive rebounds that they turned into 15 second chance points. Heading into the final quarter of play Hope had significantly closed the gap and Calvin's lead shrunk to just five points.
 
With just over five minutes left in regulation the Dutch sank a shot from beyond the arc to take their first lead of the game. From that point forward both teams traded buckets as sophomore Jamie Custer (Galena, Ohio/Worthington Christian) hit her fifth 3-pointer of the game and junior Chloe Wiegers (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) nailed a jumper to keep Calvin in the game. 
 
With three seconds left on the clock, the Dutch looked to junior guard Terin Maynard who hit a running jumper to give Hope a late 50-48 lead. In desperate need of a bucket, the Knights called a timeout to draw up one final play. Coming out of the timeout, Weigers took the ball out of bounds and quickly found Rohrer near the three-point line. With a defender on her back, Rohrer took one dribble to get to the left elbow where she rose and knocked down the midrange shot to send the game into overtime.
 
 In overtime, the Knights found themselves trailing by two when they sent Maynard to the free throw line for the Dutch. After missing the first and making the second Calvin, who was now trailing by three points and out of timeouts, grabbed the rebound and quickly pushed the ball up the court. 
 
Fernandez got possession at the top of the key and drove into the lane where she drew attention from three Dutch defenders. Seeing an opening, Fernandez kicked the ball to a wide open LaRue in the corner who buried the 3-pointer to even the score at 55-55 with just 4.1 seconds left on the clock.
 
Hope immediately called a timeout to advance the ball to its side of the floor and draw up one final play. Unfortunately for the Knights, the Dutch found sophomore guard Maddie Petroelije who took two dribbles into the paint and hit a fade-away layup off the glass with 0.8 seconds left to secure the 57-55 rivalry victory for Hope.
 
Rohrer led the way for the Knights with 16 points and seven rebounds while Custer finished with 15 points after going 5-7 from beyond the arc. Fernandez finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists. 
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "Just a great rivalry game," said head coach Mark Christner. "Tough to come out on the short end. But our effort, enthusiasm and concentration were outstanding. Thanks to Knight Nation for a great crowd today. We'll stick with it."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Wednesday, January 28th when they travel to take on the Comets of Olivet at 6:30 PM.