By Gina de Haan
On Saturday afternoon, the Calvin women's basketball team hosted the Albion College Britons in their MIAA opener. Heading into the contest, the Knights held a record of 5-0 while the visiting Brits were 5-1. Calvin handed Albion its second loss of the season, defeating the visitors 84-57.
Kayla Engelhard kicked off the game by hitting a 3-pointer ten seconds in, giving Calvin a lead they would possess for the remainder of the game. Late in the first half, Engelhard sunk another three to put the Knights up by 15 (29-14), their largest lead of the half. The senior guard tallied 11 first-half points.
Calvin's full-court pressure forced 13 Albion turnovers in the first half, helping the Knights hold a 36-24 lead heading into the locker room.
To start the second half, the Knights came out with a strong offensive effort. Calvin went on a 9-point run, fueled by a layup from Hannah Acre along with a pair of three-pointers and a free throw from Engelhard. Shortly after, a made jumper from MacKenzie Shelton completed another 8-point run for her team, putting the Knights up by 25 (53-28).
Calvin continued to roll, forcing 20 turnovers and outscoring Albion 48-33 in the second half.
Albion shot 43.8% from the floor while Calvin shot 41.3%. The Knights forced 33 total Briton turnovers.
The Knights were led by Kayla Engelhard who finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Breanna Verkaik had 14 points and 7 assists. Hannah Acre added 11 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.
For Albion, Darian Payne scored 16 points and 8 rebounds while Oreyana Curry scored 13.
"I was pleased with our overall effort," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "We had contributions from everyone on our team and our work rate was very good. Albion has a strong team this year and they will be a tough squad to face the second half of the league schedule. We feel good about this one but we have to focus now on our studies this week (first semester exams) and get ready to play a very improved Trine team next week."
Calvin remains undefeated (6-0) and is now 1-0 in the MIAA. On Saturday, December 13, the Knights will host the Trine University Thunder (5-1 overall, 2-0 MIAA) in another league contest. Tip-off is at 3:00 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.