KALAMAZOO, Mich.  - The Calvin women's basketball team improved to 5-1 on the year and opened its MIAA campaign on a successful note with an 81-65 victory at Kalamazoo Wednesday night.

Ranked 13th by D3hoops.com, Calvin used a 12-1 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.

Calvin led 43-33 at halftime but Kalamazoo outscored Calvin 17-12 in the third quarter and then crept to within three at 55-52 early in the fourth quarter.

Calvin's 12-1 run midway through the fourth quarter was sparked by a pair of three-pointers by senior Abby Springer and a steal-and-layup by senior Kally Verkaik.

Calvin struggled from the perimeter until the fourth quarter, hitting on only 4 of 18 from three-point range but then hit 4 of 8 from downtown over the final 10 minutes with Verkaik and sophomore Ali Spayde also splashing home three pointers.

Junior Anna Timmer led Calvin with 25 points and 13 rebounds, matching a career high in scoring. Springer also tossed in a career-high 21 points while sophomore Bre Luurtsema had 10 points.

Kalamazoo (1-3 overall, 0-1 MIAA) was led by Emily Kozal who pumped in 21 points while Grace Smith had 17 points and Kelsey Adamski 10.

Calvin held a 37-30 rebounding advantage and forced Kalamazoo into 28 turnovers. Verkaik, Springer, Timmer and senior Tiffany Karger had four steals apiece.

"Kalamazoo played really well. We had to earn this one," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross after the game. "I felt we made some big defensive plays off our press in the fourth quarter to seal the game. It is always nice to pick up your first conference road win of the year. They are not easy to come by."

Calvin will now prepare to host Saint Mary's on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.