WBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association

[oldknight]

It was certainly a treat to watch two national champion quality teams play one another at VNA tonight before a nice crowd of just under 3000 fans. Too bad the officials--who hurt both teams about evenly--weren't quite up to the task. It was a game of mini-runs with Calvin getting the final and definitive run of the game. It seemed to me that these runs were always fueled by the absence of a key player or two from the lineup of the team on the receiving end of these runs. With Hope leading 54-51 and five minutes left, Kussmaul was unjustly awarded her fourth foul sending her to the bench and Verkaik to the line. Meredith only spent two minutes off the floor but in that short time Calvin seized control of the game, scoring the next nine points. I suspect if Coach Morehouse had a do-over he would have just kept her in the game.

Calvin certainly was a deserving winner, in part because they did a better job than Hope at putting pressure on the interior of their opponent's defense leading to a better shooting percentage and more free throws. Too often I thought Hope settled for the jumper. On the other hand, Hope did a nice job of forcing turnovers. 28 is an ugly number and that can't continue if the Lady Knights expect to hoist a trophy in March.

[sac]

It was certainly a treat to watch two national champion quality teams play one another 

Yes it was.  Down 3 with 26 to play, Hope called timeout, ran the play they wanted with their Sr PG taking the shot, it just didn't go down.

Well played defensive game.


Calvin was 9-19 at the FT line and finished the game making 9 of their last 10.  They made them when it counted.  Also when it mattered Calvin was able to go inside a little better, the last 10 minutes it really felt like Hope had to work harder to score.

[pointlem]

Great synopsis OK.

With Hope leading 54-51 and five minutes left, Kussmaul was unjustly awarded her fourth foul sending her to the bench and Verkaik to the line. Meredith only spent two minutes off the floor but in that short time Calvin seized control of the game, scoring the next nine points. I suspect if Coach Morehouse had a do-over he would have just kept her in the game.

Not to beat a dead horse, but this again raises the question of whether it's better to maximize minutes from a key player with fouls (mindful that every minute and point counts the same) or to bench them to be assured of their availability in the last couple minutes ("when the game is on the line").  Both coaches seem to favor the latter, with Coach Ross benching Carissa VK for the last 11 minutes of the 1st half (when Hope made its move) once she had two fouls.  (She finished with 3 fouls, so if Hope had won, we might be discussing that choice.)

[Roundball999]

Regardless of the details of the game, who you support, or even the outcome, this was a great event.  It was an exciting back and forth game that went down to the wire as it should have; both teams did an outstanding job representing their colleges; and nearly 3,000 fans came out to see a D3 women's hoops game.  Everyone involved should be proud!

[Calvinhoops]

Agreed!  How cool was that?  Largest women's crowd in Van Noord history and the largest student section ever.  Great to see the support for women's basketball.

[sac]

Great synopsis OK.

With Hope leading 54-51 and five minutes left, Kussmaul was unjustly awarded her fourth foul sending her to the bench and Verkaik to the line. Meredith only spent two minutes off the floor but in that short time Calvin seized control of the game, scoring the next nine points. I suspect if Coach Morehouse had a do-over he would have just kept her in the game.

Not to beat a dead horse, but this again raises the question of whether it's better to maximize minutes from a key player with fouls (mindful that every minute and point counts the same) or to bench them to be assured of their availability in the last couple minutes ("when the game is on the line").  Both coaches seem to favor the latter, with Coach Ross benching Carissa VK for the last 11 minutes of the 1st half (when Hope made its move) once she had two fouls.  (She finished with 3 fouls, so if Hope had won, we might be discussing that choice.)

Having to take Kussmaul off the floor hurt because it followed having Liz Ellis off the floor for 2 minutes.  Hope ended up playing 4 of the last 7 minutes without 2 of their best players on the floor together.  Not ideal.

[realist]

Agreed!  How cool was that?  Largest women's crowd in Van Noord history and the largest student section ever.  Great to see the support for women's basketball.

2,973 for the women's game, and 2,503 for the men's game.  Don't recall ever seeing this spread before.  Great idea having the women's game at 7:30 to attract the Hope followers.

[realist]

New top 25 out.  Calvin remains at #2, and Hope moves up to #3.

[ziggy]

New top 25 out.  Calvin remains at #2, and Hope moves up to #3.

Gotta give the voters credit for this. I always hate the automatic 'lose and move down' routine. It doesn't make sense with Michigan and, in particular, Duke this week in the DI men's poll but happened anyway.

[realist]

Hope did drop from 536 points last week to 525 this week, but because of Wash U, and St. Thomas both losing Hope moved up to 3rd..  Good for the MIAA.  I didn't think Hope deserved to drop much if at all, and this sure verifies that.

[Roundball999]

New top 25 out.  Calvin remains at #2, and Hope moves up to #3.

Gotta give the voters credit for this. I always hate the automatic 'lose and move down' routine. It doesn't make sense with Michigan and, in particular, Duke this week in the DI men's poll but happened anyway.

I agree.  Since I sometimes holler about the pollsters, I also have to give them props for this.    Losing while playing the #2 team down to the wire on their home court shouldn't be a reason for the Dutch to fall, but that's what usually happens.  Voters clearly looked deeper than just the W/L column.

[sac]

The NCAA bracket for this area should be really "interesting" with DePauw, Hope and Calvin and figuring out where to place them.

[realist]

New top 25 out.  Calvin remains at #2, and Hope moves up to #3.

Gotta give the voters credit for this. I always hate the automatic 'lose and move down' routine. It doesn't make sense with Michigan and, in particular, Duke this week in the DI men's poll but happened anyway.

I agree.  Since I sometimes holler about the pollsters, I also have to give them props for this.    Losing while playing the #2 team down to the wire on their home court shouldn't be a reason for the Dutch to fall, but that's what usually happens.  Voters clearly looked deeper than just the W/L column.

RB999 as much as I might agree with you, it also didn't hurt that last weeks #3, & #4 lost.

[Roundball999]

New top 25 out.  Calvin remains at #2, and Hope moves up to #3.

Gotta give the voters credit for this. I always hate the automatic 'lose and move down' routine. It doesn't make sense with Michigan and, in particular, Duke this week in the DI men's poll but happened anyway.

I agree.  Since I sometimes holler about the pollsters, I also have to give them props for this.    Losing while playing the #2 team down to the wire on their home court shouldn't be a reason for the Dutch to fall, but that's what usually happens.  Voters clearly looked deeper than just the W/L column.

RB999 as much as I might agree with you, it also didn't hurt that last weeks #3, & #4 lost.

Oh absolutely, but I still figured the pollsters would leapfrog Hope with undefeated Amherst and maybe Tufts.  It just seems that its usually an automatic reaction to drop a team that loses, by at least a few spots. I've watched both Amherst and Tufts play and in my opinion Hope and Calvin are better, maybe by more than a little, and for now at least the voters agree.

[realist]

New top 25 out.  Calvin remains at #2, and Hope moves up to #3.

Gotta give the voters credit for this. I always hate the automatic 'lose and move down' routine. It doesn't make sense with Michigan and, in particular, Duke this week in the DI men's poll but happened anyway.

I agree.  Since I sometimes holler about the pollsters, I also have to give them props for this.    Losing while playing the #2 team down to the wire on their home court shouldn't be a reason for the Dutch to fall, but that's what usually happens.  Voters clearly looked deeper than just the W/L column.

RB999 as much as I might agree with you, it also didn't hurt that last weeks #3, & #4 lost.

Oh absolutely, but I still figured the pollsters would leapfrog Hope with undefeated Amherst and maybe Tufts.  It just seems that its usually an automatic reaction to drop a team that loses, by at least a few spots. I've watched both Amherst and Tufts play and in my opinion Hope and Calvin are better, maybe by more than a little, and for now at least the voters agree.

We agree.    One of the real advantages of having VIDEO of your games available is it allows individuals who can't see the games personally to get a sense of who/what the teams really are.  I have done this for several years now, and "trust me" Hope aned Calvin are really good.  No disrespect to Amherst or any other team, but t is really, really, really hard to beat "the tall, beautiful, Dutch girls".