The Albion College women's basketball team came away with an 81-46 loss to Calvin College Wednesday night.
The Britons started the game out strong by playing lock-down defense and attacking the basket – they were in the bonus with over 10 minutes to go in the half and controlled the game throughout the first eight minutes.
However, after freshman guard Olivia Savage sunk a free throw with 6:57 remaining to cut Calvin's lead to just two points, the Britons couldn't find a way to get the ball in the bucket. Calvin proceeded to turn a 19-17 lead with less than seven minutes remaining into a 35-17 lead by halftime. The Britons were averaging around 17 turnovers per game on the season but the pressure up front from the scrappy Knight guards forced Albion to match that number in the first half alone.
"We just need to get better," said Head Coach Doreen Carden, "both individually and as a team. That's really all there is to it."
The Britons ended the game with just 12 made field goals while shooting 25 percent from the floor while giving up 30 total turnovers. The Knights deserve all of the credit – Calvin has eight players with at least three years of MIAA experience, and the veteran crew buckled down over the course of the game and showed the young Britons why they can't afford to lose focus or to play without energy at this level.
"We're so inexperienced," said Carden. "We just aren't ready for that type of pressure or to play at the speed teams are making us play at right now."
There truly wasn't a whole lot Albion could do to stop Calvin this time around, though. Despite some solid defense from Albion, the Knights shot an astounding 49 percent from the field, including 52 percent from beyond the arc.
"And that's the difference," Carden said about the shooting percentage disparity. "They hit their shots, we didn't."
Emily DeWaters had yet another impressive performance with nine points and six rebounds, while Oreyana Curry added eight points off the bench. Caroline Adamczyk had her best performance since Albion's win against Alma College, contributing six points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes.
The Britons fell to 6-13 overall and 2-8 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play. The women return to action on Saturday when they host Adrian College. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 o'clock at Kresge Gymnasium.