GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - In the first round of the conference tournament, the Knights rolled to an 84-57 victory over Kalamazoo College.

Calvin, the one seed, hosted the Hornets at the Van Noord Arena and completed a three-game sweep of Kalamazoo, including two regular season victories over the squad. 

Leading the way for the Knights was sophomore Carissa Verkaik, who tallied 27 points and 11 rebounds while shooting an efficient 12-15 from the field.

Fellow sophomores in the post Julia Hilbrands and Ally Wolffis contributed 12 and 13 points respectively.  Hilbrands' 11 rebounds completed her first collegiate double-double.

Kelsey Irwin also shot 4-6 from the perimeter, scoring twelve points off the bench.

Kalamazoo opened the game on a 5-0 run, but the Knights went unphased, scoring the next 14 points and taking control of the game.

Katrina Carlsen led the Hornets in scoring, with 16 points on the evening.  Anne Colonius wasn't far behind her with 14. 

Calvin Coach John Ross saw a need from improvement from the game, but also noted good things to take from it.

"We did a good job getting into the post.  We won, but we need to play better on Thursday," said Ross.

The Knights will host Albion on Thursday at 7:30. 

Notes:....With her 27 points, Verkaik moved past Brook Van Eck and Julie Post into 11th place on the Calvin career scoring list, boosting her career total to 1,027 points….Calvin is now 28-14 all-time in MIAA Tournament play including 12-3 in first round games as well as 11-1 at home…Calvin is now 6-0 vs Kalamazoo in MIAA Tournament play….Calvin will be facing Albion for the eighth time in MIAA Tournament play Thursday night…the Knights are 4-3 all-time in MIAA Tournament play against the Britons…Calvin's Kelsey Irwin connected on four three-point shots Tuesday night. Irwin now has a team-leading 39 three-point baskets. Irwin has connected on 40 field goals this year and 39 have been of the three-point variety….Calvin is now 29-4 all-time at Van Noord Arena including 12-0 this year.