The nationally-ranked and outright MIAA champion Hope College women's basketball team led from start to finish while earning a 78-42 Senior Night victory against Adrian College on Wednesday.
The Flying Dutch - ranked fourth in the WBCA poll this week, fifth in the nation by d3hoops.com and most recently at the top of the Region VII rankings - opened their final regular-season home game by scoring the first 12 points.
Two free throws from the lone senior Raven Jemison (Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Kentwood HS) began the run. A jumper from sophomore Keegan Kaiser (New Albany, Indiana / Floyd Central HS) assisted by Jemison ended it. Adrian rallied to within three points early in the second half, but Hope stretched the lead back to 14 points by halftime.
"It was a really, really good start, then we kind of went cold from 3, and that hurt us," said head coach Brian Morehouse. "I thought we hung in there and got a really good start in the third quarter and got back to rebounding the ball better."
Hope, now 15-0 in MIAA play and 23-1 overall, outrebounded the Bulldogs 41-31. The Flying Dutch grabbed 16 offensive boards.
Consistency is what Morehouse it takes to have the opportunity to complete a season unblemished. Hope can go 16-0 in MIAA paly for the first time since the 2019-20 season on Saturday, Feb. 17, with a victory at Alma College. Tipoff is 3 p.m.
"Our first league game was November 30, that is a lot of consistency over a long time," Morehouse said. "We have won some really close games; double OT over Alma and down nine points at Albion. This team has showed a lot of resilience and a lot of fight, and I think just a lot of consistency over a 15-game schedule."
The Orange and Blue converted 23 Adrian turnovers into 32 points.
Sophomore Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, Illinois / Prairie Ridge) led the balanced Hope offense with 11 points, making 4-of-5 shots from the field and sinking three 3-pointers.
Jemison added a flurry of stats during her final regular season game at DeVos. Jemison totaled eight points, four blocks, and seven rebounds for Hope.
Junior Olivia Bellows (Lake City, Michigan / Lake City) and Kaiser each chipped in eight points.
A total of 14 different Flying Dutch grabbed points in the 19th straight win on the season.
Junior Courtney Lee (Fishers, Indiana / Heritage Christian) nabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while junior Jada Garner (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) led Hope with three assists.
The Flying Dutch shot 41.9% from the field and kept the Bulldogs away from free-throw line for three consecutive quarters.