#12 Calvin Holds Off Saint Mary's, 53-52
Box Score
NOTRE DAME, IN – Saint Mary’s nearly pulled off the biggest in school history but Calvin held off a valiant second half charge by the Belles, 53-52 in MIAA basketball action.
Calvin, the 12th ranked team in the nation, improves to 11-1 overall and 5-0 league play while the Belles fall to 4-9 and 3-3 respectively. The win would have been the first ever against a nationally ranked team for Saint Mary’s.
The Belles held their only lead of the game on back-to-back foul shots from Megan Conaty less than a minute into the game. Calvin pushed their first half lead up to 27-17 with 1:47 left until halftime before holding a 27-19 advantage at intermission.
Calvin looked to take command of the game early in the second period as they pushed their lead to 38-25 with 16:06 remaining in the contest. However, the Belles responded with a 12-0 scoring run over the next 3:44. Each team went cold during the next 8:09 as only 12 total points where scored as Calvin took a 47-40 lead.
A pair of foul shots by Lisa Winkle with 1:17 remaining gave Calvin a 53-48 lead. On the Belles next possession Alison Kessler nailed a three-pointer to bring Saint Mary’s within 53-51 at the one minute mark. After a missed Marcia Harris jumper on the Knight’s next possession with 38 seconds remaining, Saint Mary’s was forced into a turnover with 21 seconds left.
Saint Mary’s fouled Lindsey Peuler with 13 seconds left but she missed both of her foul shots. With the score still at two-point Calvin lead (53-51), Kessler drew a foul with three seconds left but converted just one of two shots from the charity stripe. Calvin went to the foul line one last time but Winkle missed both of her attempts with two seconds left. Kessler threw up a desperation shot from just inside half court at the buzzer that hit the front of rim.
Kessler had a team best 20 points to pace the Saint Mary’s attack. Erin Newsom (11) and Bridget Lipke (10) also recorded a double figure scoring effort.
Marcia Harris led all scorers posting a double-double (21 points, 14 rebounds) for Calvin. Winkle also tallied a double-double with an 11-point, 10-rebound effort.
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