OSHKOSH, Wisc. – Calvin's trip through its first Division III NCAA Tournament since 2017 came to an end in the first round Friday night, but not without sending an upset scare against another nationally-ranked foe.
Calvin fell 61-52 to the host UW-Oshkosh in a first round NCAA III Tournament game at the Kolf Sports Center. The Knights let the 11th-ranked Titans 32-29 at halftime and trailed by only four with just over two minutes remaining but came up short in their upset bid.
Calvin (18-11) stood toe-to-toe with Oshkosh throughout the game, particularly in the first half when it led 15-12 after one quarter of play and 32-29 at halftime. Calvin shot 53.8 percent in the first half and were led by junior Anna Fernandez and sophomore Hannah Sall who pumped in nine points apiece in the opening half. UW-Oshkosh led 9-6 in the first quarter but Calvin finished the opening quarter on a 9-0 run fueled by triples by Fernandez and freshman Gabby Halliwill. Halliwill later splashed another triple in the second quarter, extending the Calvin lead to 29-22. The Titans closed the half on a 7-3 run to trail by three at the break.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh began to tighten the screws defensively while pounding the offensive glass in the third quarter. The result was a 14-7 third quarter for the Titans (24-4) which allowed them to build a 43-39 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
UW-Oshkosh threatened to pull away in the fourth quarter but Calvin answered with timely shots to remain in contact. Sall answered with key baskets inside after the Titans went up six on two occasions early in the fourth quarter. Halliwill splashed another triple to make it 49-46 after UW-Oshkosh had gone up 49-43.
A driving layup by Sall brought the Knights within a point at 49-48 heading into the final media timeout at the 4:56 mark of the fourth quarter but Calvin got no closer the rest of the way. Sammi Beyer of Oshkosh answered with a clutch triple to give the Titans a 52-48 lead and added a free throw a minute later to make it a five-point lead. Calvin later trailed 54-50 but missed three shots that could have cut the margin down to a single possession over the next two minutes. UW-Oshkosh then connected on seven free throws in the final minute of play to seal the win.
Calvin was led in defeat by Sall who pumped in 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting to go with four blocked shots and a pair of steals. Fernandez had 12 points while Halliwill had nine and senior Valerie Dirkse six points to go with seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a pair of blocked shots.
Kayce Vaile had 16 points, Alex Rondorf 15 points and Beyer 12 points for UW-Oshkosh.
Oshkosh held a 38-28 rebounding advantage including 12-6 on the offensive glass.
Dirkse finished her Calvin career with 690 rebounds and 183 blocked shots, ranking sixth on the Calvin career list for rebounds and fifth in career blocked shots. Dirkse was one of five Calvin Knights appearing for the final time on Saturday including fellow seniors Sophie Sensenig, Sally Merrill, Allie Mayes and Grace Rosser.
COACHES COMMENT: "Congrats to Oshkosh on a tremendously hard-fought game," said Calvin head women's basketball coach Mark Christner. "I thought the shot-making was high level. The physicality and the pace of play was very indicative of an NCAA-Tournament level game. We felt pretty good about where we are at throughout nearly the entire game. We probably needed another shot to fall or take care of the ball a little better down the stretch but credit to Oshkosh for making the plays it needed to make at crunch time. Having said that this team was a joy to coach led by a great group of seniors. I thought this team came a long way in a short amount of time and made huge strides. For that we are grateful."