By Mitch Blankespoor

HOLLAND, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College women's basketball team dropped its second Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) game of the season with a 74-55 loss to the Flying Dutch of Hope College. The defeat drops Kalamazoo to 8-5 on the season and 4-2 in MIAA play.

"This is a really tough place to play," Kalamazoo Head Coach Katie Miller said. "We came out strong, but it is difficult to maintain the high level of play."

Hope held a slight 9-6 advantage with 15:45 to play until Kalamazoo junior guard Emily Lindsay connected on a deep three-pointer to tie the game at nine. After a Hope basket, Kalamazoo senior forward Nicole Antoine swerved through two Flying Dutch defenders and converted on a layup.

On the very next possession, Lindsay nailed a triple from the same spot on the DeVos Fieldhouse floor as the first, giving K a 14-11 lead.

The Hornets would hold the lead for a full five minutes until a pair of Hope triples from Megan Kelley and Brittany Berry gave the Flying Dutch a 19-17 lead with nine minutes to play.

Kalamazoo was held without a basket until the 5:37 mark when junior guard Querubin Dubois nailed a jumper. The scoreboard read "Hope 24 Kalamazoo 19".

Hope would end the half on a 12-8 run and take a 36-27 lead into halftime.

Hope would lead by as many as 18 points early in the second half, but Kalamazoo hung around. The Hornets cut the Hope lead to 10 points when sophomore Lucy Mailing connected on a 10-foot jumper.

The Flying Dutch, however, would regain control and cruise to the 19-point victory.

"We turned the ball over too much which gave them [Hope] easy baskets," Miller said. "We did take some good shots when we had open looks."

Antoine and Lindsay both finished with 10 points in a losing effort. The Flying Dutch had three players finish in double figures.

Kalamazoo lost the game on the glass and from the free throw line. Hope converted 26-34 free throws while the Hornets went 16-23 from the charity stripe. Hope also grabbed 52 rebounds (23 offensive) compared to 41 for Kalamazoo.

"Ultimately, we lost the game by giving up too many offensive rebounds," said Miller.

Kalamazoo returns to action Saturday, Jan. 18 when it travels to Calvin for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.