GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.-- Trine's women's basketball team fell to Calvin, 78-57, in MIAA-action Monday night at Van Noord Arena.
The Knights' size advantaged helped produce a 34-16 edge in the paint. Calvin scored 21 second-chance points to Trine's 6. Anna Timmer came off the bench to record a double-double for the Knights, scoring 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Kayla Dunn (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) scored a career-high 15 points and added a career-high eight rebounds to lead the Thunder. Trine falls to 4-15 overall and 1-9 in the conference play. The Knights are now 13-6 overall, 8-3 in the MIAA.
Megan Engle (Parker City, Ind./Monroe Central) came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting for Trine. Kelsey Henselmeier (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) added eight points and five rebounds. The Thunder shot 32 percent from the field (17-of-54) and hit 20-of-35 free throws (57 percent).
Breanna Verkaik notched 17 points and six rebounds for the Knights. Hannah Acre added 12 points off the bench. Paced by Acre and Timmer, Calvin's bench outscored their Thunder counterparts 43-21. The Knights shot 42 percent from the field (30-of-71).
The two teams played even over the game's first five minutes, before a Maria DeKuiper three gave the Knights an 11-8 lead with 15:05 remaining the first half. Calvin would not trail the rest of the night. A 20-6 run spanning from the 12:02 mark to the 5:20 mark broke open the game and gave the Knights a 38-20 lead. They would take a 40-28 lead into the half.
Trine was able to close the deficit to seven with a strong start to the second half. Dunn scored four points, while Lauren Tait (Syracuse, Ind./Wawasee) and Engle each added two before a pair of Henselmeier free throws cut the score to 45-38 with 13:28 remaining.
The Knights hit right back with an 11-0 run to put the game out of reach. Verkaik scored six straight points during the run, which was capped by a Timmer three. The Calvin lead would not shrink below 15 the rest of the contest.
Trine returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 5 when they travel to Alma. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.