No. 1 Hope Scores 115 Points, Wins MIAA Tournament Opener

The No. 1-ranked Hope College women's basketball team set two more records in an already illustrious season with its 115-55 win over Kalamazoo College on Monday night in the quarterfinals of the 2021 MIAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

First, the Flying Dutch set an MIAA record for the most points in a tournament game by breaking their own previous mark (103) which they held from the 2011 season in a win over Adrian.

Then, in reaching the century mark for the fourth time in a season, Hope bested the program's previous record of three 100-point games in a season held by the 2015-16 Flying Dutch.

Finally, and more importantly, the win propels Hope into the MIAA semifinals in which they will play against archrival Calvin University in DeVos Fieldhouse on Wednesday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. The Knights defeated Alma, 69-62, on Monday in another quarterfinal game.

The Flying Dutch's undefeated record now stands at 14-0 and its win streak at 43 in a row.

Hope is 53-12 all-time in MIAA Tournament games and 8-0 all-time against Kalamazoo in postseason history. This is Hope's first MIAA Tournament game vs. the Hornets since a 2015 semifinal that the Flying Dutch won, 62-48, at DeVos Fieldhouse.

All 18 players on the Hope roster scored in Monday's game as the Flying Dutch shot well from the field, hitting 41-of-78 shots for 52.6%.

Only senior Olivia Voskuil of Holland (Holland Christian HS) scored in double figures with 13 points.

Five players added nine points each: Senior Jess Moorman of Northville (Northville HS), sophomore Claire Baguley Ada (Forest Hills Central HS), sophomore Ella McKinney of Haslett (Haslett HS), sophomore Savannah Feenstra of Osceola, Ind. (Northwood HS), and senior Sydney Muller of Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids Christian HS).

Hope's pressure defensive was as effective as its efficient offense. The Flying Dutch forced the Hornets into 28 turnovers, resulting in 33 points off of those turnovers for Hope.

The Flying Dutch also outrebounded Kalamazoo, 48-28, with Feenstra and Voskuil leading the way with nine and eight rebounds, respectively.

"We're really focused on a championship week, and tonight was the first step towards that," said head coach Brian Morehouse. "We really talked a lot about our defensive principles and sitting down in a defensive stance more tonight. I think sometimes we get a little lazy and we stand up.

"I thought we did compete very, very hard tonight, though, especially in the first half on the defensive end. But credit to (Kalamazoo) because they made some tough shots, especially in the fourth quarter. But overall, our defense was better, and offensively, we got into some things that we really wanted to get into tonight that we think will help us become a better basketball team as the week goes along."