By Sports Information Student Assistant Derek Neice
After defeating rival Hope College in the MIAA Tournament Championship to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament, the Calvin Knights defended its home turf and won a decisive first round NCAA III Tournament victory over La Roche College, defeating the Red Hawks by a score of 73-37.
Despite being subbed out a majority of the second half, sophomore Carissa Verkaik led the Knights with what was just shy of a triple double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 blocks.
The Knights shot 40.4 percent from the field for the game on 23 of 57 shooting. Other key contributors for Calvin was sophomore Ally Wolffis who added 10 points and 5 boards, and sophomores Julia Hildbrands and Michalea Breuker who both had 8 points.
"We did a great job putting pressure defensively on the perimeter and our post did a really good job," coach Ross said after the game. "That makes the offense flow a lot easier and it was a really good game for us."
"One of our main goals is to hold teams to a low score," Verkaik added. "And then once we do that we were very patient on offense which helped a lot too."
In the first half the Knights rolled out to an early 8-0 lead and then used a 15-0 run to increase the lead to 23-2. At the break Calvin lead by a huge score of 35-8, shooting 40.7 percent from the field and holding the Red Hawks to a meager 11.1 percent.
In the second half the Knights again went on roll, using an 11-0 run to lead 46-8. Calvin then had the privilege of substituting its starters out to rest, and the Knights were able to coast to the finishing score of 73-37.
The win pushes Calvin to 25-4 overall while La Roche, making its first time NCAA Tournament in school history, drop to 23-5.
Saturday, the Knights will again host in the second round game against the Maroons of the University of Chicago, who defeated Hanover College earlier on Friday in the Van Noord Arena.
"Chicago is really good but we're excited to play at home," Ross said. "We're really comfortable in this arena and it's a great blessing to have such a great facility to play in."
That game will kick off at 7 p.m.