Calvin (Mich.) College went on an 18-0 run midway through the second half and the Lakeland College women's basketball was defeated 65-45 in both teams' season opener Friday night at Woltzen Gymnasium.

The nationally ranked Knights forced the Muskies into 35 turnovers in the game, and the turnovers finally took their toll in the second half. Calvin, ranked 12th in the NCAA Division III coaches poll coming into this season, evened the all-time series between the two schools at 1-1.

Lakeland trailed just 34-27 after Bailey Grayvold (Fr.-Norway, Mich.) hit a three-pointer with 14:04 to play in the game. The Muskies would not score again for more than six minutes, while Calvin scored 18 consecutive points.

In fact, Lakeland struggled to even get off a shot in that stretch, committing seven turnovers. The Muskies never got closer than 19 points the rest of the way.

The rough patch offset a scrappy performance over the first 25 minutes, in which Lakeland struggled to find the hoop and turned the ball over often but still hung with the guests.

The Muskies never led in the game, but came back from an early seven-point deficit to tie the game at 18-18 on two free throws by Trista Barron (So.-Escanaba, Mich.) with 5:17 left in the first half. Barron and Grayvold both scored seven points in the first half, and even after a late run by the Knights, Lakeland still was in striking distance at halftime, trailing 28-20.

Grayvold and Barron both came off the bench and led the Muskies with 10 points each. Vashia Gordon (Sr.-Green Bay, Wis.) added seven points and eight rebounds. Leah Eisner (Sr.-Stevens Point, Wis.) was held to four points but led Lakeland with nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Lakeland finished the game shooting 12 of 44 from the field (27.3%). The Muskies did outrebound Calvin 43-38.

Breanna Verkaik led the Knights with 19 points, while Kirstin Tripp added 13 and Hannah Acre pitched in 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Calvin shot 22 of 64 (34.4%), including just 3-for-20 from three-point range, but the Knights took better care of the ball, committing 16 turnovers.

Lakeland returns to the court next Friday when it travels to face Alma (Mich.) College at 5 p.m. Central time in Alma, Mich.