By Mark DeHaan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's basketball team hosted the Thunder of Trine University on Saturday afternoon. Both teams came into the game with unblemished conference records as Trine was 2-0 in the MIAA and the Knights 1-0. Both teams were also holding on to six-game win streaks.

In what turned out to be a surprisingly lopsided ballgame, Calvin built a double-digit lead just seven minutes in and never looked back, defeating the Thunder 97-50.

The Knights played strong defense early, forcing Trine into a number of off-balance shots as Calvin jumped out to an 18-8 lead with 13:05 remaining in the first half.

The Knights continued to effectively use their full court press and forced the Thunder into 15 first-half turnovers. Trine was held to just 23.1% shooting in the opening period as well, and Calvin held a 46-19 lead at the break.

The Knights out-rebounded Trine 31-13 in the first half. Individually, senior Kayla Engelhard led Calvin with 11 points.

In the second half, the Knights continued to press, letting the Thunder only get as close as 79-49 with 5:13 to go after opening up the half on a 12-1 run.

Calvin then cruised the rest of the way.

As a team, the Knights shot 50% from the field and also hit 10-of-26 from beyond the arc for 38.5%.

Trine was held to 25.9% on 15-of-58 shooting while only hitting 1-of-11 from three-point range. Calvin out-rebounded the Thunder 55-30.

Individually, Engelhard led Calvin with 13 points. Senior Hannah Acre added 12 points and 10 rebounds while senior Kelsey Pollock chipped in a career-high 11 points.

For Trine, Ashley Elliott had 10 points and five rebounds.

"We came out and did some really good things in the press, knocked down some shots early, and forced them into some things they didn't want to do," said head coach John Ross. "If there was a key, Kally Verkaik, Hannah Acre, and Anna Timmer all did a phenomenal job hitting the boards. If those three can get 30 boards between them, we're going to win a lot of ball games. Trine was one-and-done most of the first half, and that makes a big difference."

Calvin now looks forward to next weekend when it departs to California for a Christmas break trip. The Knights will play Lewis and Clark on Monday, December 22 and UC Santa Cruz on Tuesday, December 23.