No. 2 Hope Answers The Belles

Olivia Voskuil's impact for the second-ranked Hope College women's basketball team could be felt all over the court Wednesday night at DeVos Fieldhouse.

Twelve points. Five steals. Four rebounds. Three blocks. Three assists.

Added up, Voskuil's stat sheet-stuffing day helped the unbeaten Flying Dutch earn their 22nd victory of the season, 69-43, against Saint Mary's College. 

One of the NCAA Division III's two remaining unbeaten teams remained alone atop the MIAA standings with a 13-0 league record. Hope is one game ahead of second-place Trine University with three regular-season games remaining.

Head coach Brian Morehouse said the 6-2 Voskuil, pictured, gave great effort in answering the Belles' scouting report.

"We challenged their post players because we know they run a lot of their offense through their post players outside. Their post players weren't going to be sitting inside," Morehouse said. "We were going to have to be really active and get out into passing lanes."

The Flying Dutch — the nation's top defense — held Saint Mary's to 32.7 percent shooting from the field. 

Hope never trailed after the game's first eight points and building a 19-5 first-quarter lead.

While not as efficient offensively as they would have liked and shooting 2-of-23 from 3-point range, the Flying Dutch still had three players scoring in double figures.

Junior forward Ashleigh Thomas of Shelby Township, Michigan (Lutheran North HS) scored a game-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul line. She did not miss inside 3-point range.

Junior guard Kenedy Schoonveld of Zeeland, Michigan (Holland Christian) joined Voskuil with 12 points. Schoonveld also grabbed a team-high five rebounds.

Senior forward Kayla Russell of Clarkston, Michigan (Clarkston) chipped in a season-high nine points.

Hope's next game is Saturday, February 15 at Alma College. Tipoff is 3 p.m.