ALMA, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's basketball team continued its MIAA conference schedule when it traveled to take on the Scots of Alma. After getting out to a hot start and leading for the majority of the game, Alma crept from behind and took down the Knights 71-67. Calvin falls to a 7-6 overall record and a 2-2 MIAA record while Alma improves to 3-1 in conference play and 7-6 overall. 
 
Led by senior Anna Fernandez (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy), the Knights came out hot as they took a quick and commanding lead over Alma. Fernandez accounted for half of Calvin's points in the first quarter while junior Chloe Wiegers (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) completed a 3-pointer in the final seconds to give Calvin a 24-16 lead heading into the second.
 
Calvin continued to put distance between itself and the Scots as Katelyn LaRue (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) got going offensively with five points in the second quarter while Lydia Sall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) chipped in four points and three rebounds. 
 
As the second half got underway, Calvin got out to a strong start as Fernandez knocked down a 3-pointer on the Knights' opening possession. Junior RyAnn Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington) made her presence known as she scored a few buckets down low and with six minutes left in the quarter Calvin had stretched their lead to 16 points. However, from that point forward, the Scots found their footing as they slowly but surely chipped away at the lead. Alma ended the third quarter on a 13-5 scoring run and carried that momentum with them into the fourth. 
 
With just two minutes left in the game Alma had narrowed the lead down to one point before hitting a 3-pointer to take itsf irst lead of the game. With time running out, the teams exchanged buckets before the Scots stretched the lead to four, their largest lead of the game. With only four second left on the clock the Knights were unable to reclaim the lead and Alma defeated Calvin 71-67.
 
Fernandez finished with a career high 32 points while LaRue added 11 points. Sall was close behind with 10 points and five rebounds while Rohrer recorded eight points and a team high eight rebounds. 
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "Credit to Alma they were resilient and hung with it," said head coach Mark Christner. "I thought we played well for 35 minutes but that doesn't cut it on the road. We will be better and keep working. It's been a tough week here but we need to plow through this."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action when they return home to Van Noord Arena to take on Adrian on Saturday, January 10th at 3 PM.