ANGOLA, Ind.—The Trine women's basketball team defeated No. 25 Calvin in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association defensive thriller in overtime, 59-51, on Wednesday night.
Trine's 10 game winning streak is the longest since 1997, and the Thunder continues to be on its best start in school history. Trine improves to 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA. Calvin falls to 11-2 and 3-2 MIAA. The Thunder and the Knights demonstrated throughout the game that they are two of the best defensive teams in the MIAA. Trine has won the last three meetings.
The Thunder's Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) opened the game with a three pointer and a little under three minutes later followed with a layup to put Trine up 5-0. The Thunder held Calvin scoreless until 4:23 into the first quarter, after the Knights were plagued with fouls early. With four minutes left on the clock, the Knights grabbed their first lead 7-6, but Trine bounced back and held a 13-10 advantage going into the second.
Trine and Calvin traded points back and forth in the second quarter keeping the score close. The Thunder held a four-point lead with less than a minute left, but the Knights' Rachel Warners sunk a three pointer to bring Calvin within a point heading into halftime.
The Thunder and Knights traded leads twice to open the third quarter. Calvin's lead was up to six twice in the quarter, including with a little over a minute left. Trine's Cassidy Williams (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) sunk a free throw to bring the advantage to five. With 24 seconds left in the third, Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) stole the ball from Calvin and was fouled making a layup. Dawson added the extra point to put Trine within two points, 35-33, going into the fourth quarter.
Dawson opened the fourth quarter with a layup to tie the game at 35 all and notch her fifth-straight point of the game. The Thunder took advantage of Calvin fouls and three turnovers to go on an 11 point run. Trine's strong defense held the Knights scoreless for the first 4:20 of the quarter. Calvin was only able to score off six free throws until 1:32 left in regulation, and with a layup, Ali Spayde to put the Knights within three points. Anna Timmer scored on a layup with three seconds left in the game and tied the game by making a free throw after she was fouled to send the game into overtime.
Williams opened extra time with a three pointer and added a layup to put Trine up by five points. With nine points in overtime, Williams led the Thunder past the Knights to remain perfect in MIAA play.
Dawson led the Thunder with 17 points and six rebounds, while Williams finished with 16 points and four assists. Taylor Cole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Shepherd) added a game-high eight rebounds.
The Thunder scored 26 points off turnovers to Calvin's eight points.
The Knights were led by Lauren Goldthorpe with 17 points and five rebounds. Ali Spayde added 11 points, while Bre Luurtsema had 10. The Thunder held Timmer to just three points on the night. Timmer is fifth in the country and leads the MIAA with eight double doubles on the year.
Trine returns to action on Saturday when it will play host to Adrian for a 3 p.m. tipoff in Hershey Hall.