GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The No. 19 Calvin women's basketball team remained perfect in the MIAA with an 81-52 victory over Trine on Wednesday evening. The Knights improved to 9-3 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA. Trine falls 9-4 and 2-3 in the MIAA.
"I was extremely pleased with our effort tonight," said head coach John Ross. "That is the best we have played all year, we played a full solid 40 minutes. Trine is one of the better programs in the country, they have things going in the right direction. I thought we did a good job on the boards and pushing tempo."
The Calvin defense started the game forcing four-straight turnovers and jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. The Knights kept the pressure on the Thunder the entire first quarter and led 21-7 after the first 10 minutes.
Trine started the second quarter on a 5-0 to cut into the Calvin lead. The Knights would respond with an 8-2 run. Calvin would go into halftime leading, 35-22. The Knights shot 50% in the first half.
Calvin extended the lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Thunder, 27- 16. The Knights would go on to give some separation from Trine, outscoring Trine in the fourth quarter, 19-14.
Senior Abby Springer finished the night with the 13 assists, the second most in a single game in Calvin history.
"Abby works hard every day," said Ross. "She is a great player for the program."
The Knights were led by sophomore Bre Luurtsema with a career-high 24 points.
"Bre Luurtsema is one of the hardest workers I have ever met," said Ross. "She played a great game and didn't back down from playing their 6-2 post."
Senior Kally Verkaik finished the night with a double-double. Verkaik had a team-high 11 rebounds and 10 points.
Junior Anna Timmer had 18 points in the victory and sophomore Ali Spayde scored 11 points.
The Knights dominated the paint on Wednesday with 50 points in the paint, compared to Trine with 20. Calvin also scored 33 points off of Trine turnovers.
Calvin returns to action on Saturday as the Knights travel to Olivet at 3 p.m. to take on the Comets.