ALBION - Fourth-ranked Calvin survived a frigid second half shooting performance to claim a 69-60 victory at Albion Wednesday night in the MIAA opener for both teams.

Wednesday's game was a tale of two halves. In the first half, Calvin bolted out to a 17-point lead and threatened to blow the game wide open. Calvin (6-0 overall, 1-0 MIAA shot 50 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes but allowed Albion to score the final five points of the half to give the host Britons (1-4 overall, 0-1 MIAA) a boost of momentum.

Albion began to chip away at the Calvin lead as the Knights were just 10 of 33 (.303) from the field in the second half while Albion shot over 40 percent in the second half. Albion cut the Calvin lead to three points at 57-54 with six minutes remaining but Calvin junior Kelsey Irwin was able to swish a three-pointer in transition to boost the Knights into a 60-54 advantage.

Albion closed again with five points at 65-60 but a bucket inside by junior Julia Hilbrands and free throws from senior Jill Thomas allowed the Knights to keep Albion at bay.

Hillbrands had a huge game for Calvin off the bench with 17 points and eight rebounds, connecting on 8 of 9 attempts from the field. Junior Carissa Verkaik notched her 30th career double-double with 16 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots while Thomas had 12 points. Irwin added nine off the bench on 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range.

Nicole Dennis led Albion with 18 points off the bench while Patty Rewa had 12 points and 11 boards for the Britons.

Calvin shot 40 percent overall from the field and 52.6 percent (10 of 19) from the free throw line.

Calvin returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Adrian at 1 p.m. in the home opener for the Knights.