By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
With the score tied in the waning seconds of overtime Saturday afternoon, the Hope College women's basketball team put the ball in the hands of sophomore forward Maddie Petroelje.
Petroelje caught the inbounds pass at the top of the key, then drove left of the lane against Calvin University guard Anna Fernandez and banked in the game-winning shot from eight feet away with 0.5 seconds remaining, lifting the nationally-ranked Flying Dutch to a heart-stopping 57-55 win over the Knights at Van Noord Arena in the 142nd women's basketball meeting in The Rivalry.
"[Associate head coach Courtney] Kust does a great job of getting us into end-of-game situations. That play is something we repped multiple times in practice. We ran it perfectly," Petroelje said after the game.
Head coach Brian Morehouse spoke of Petroelje and others on the Hope team having that "clutch gene" that enables them to step up with the game on the line.
"We could have drawn that play up for a lot of people," Morehouse said. "It takes a lot of courage to take that shot because if you miss, you feel like you lost the game for your team. So, you have to have enough confidence that you've done that before, that you've made that play before, that you can do it, and you're willing to fail so that you can succeed. I think Maddie has that, as do all of our players. But Maddie got the chance today."
The victory was Morehouse's 400th against MIAA opponents.
Hope, ranked seventh in the country by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll and ninth by D3hoops, stayed within one-half game of first-place Trine University in the MIAA race with the come-from-behind win. The Flying Dutch are now 9-1 in the MIAA and 16-2 overall. Calvin slipped to 4-5 in the MIAA and 9-9 overall.
The Orange and Blue had to overcome a nightmarish first half to pull out its 22nd win in the last 23 meetings with Calvin and its 10th in a row at Van Noord Arena.
Hope went scoreless for more than five minutes to start the game, trailing 8-0 early on. Hope made only one field goal the entire first half – a basket by senior forward Sydney Vis early in the second quarter – and turned the ball over 12 times. Calvin led 25-11 at halftime.
The Flying Dutch amped up their defensive intensity in the second half, and in turn, it fueled the offense. Hope opened the half with a 9-2 run, capped off by a driving layup by sophomore guard Anna Richards, to cut the Calvin lead to 27-20.
Calvin bumped the lead back up to 12, but Hope closed out the third quarter with seven straight points, cutting the Knights' lead to 34-29 heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
The Hope rally continued in the fourth quarter, with Petroelje playing a central role in the comeback. She went on a personal 8-0 run in a span of 74 seconds, finishing it off with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Hope its first lead at 41-38 with 5:25 to play in regulation. It was the first of five lead changes down the stretch.
"I was kind of out of it in the first half, so I knew I had to step up if we were going to come back," Petroelje said. "My teammates were playing great. We were on a huge run, they found me in a spot and I was able to knock down the shots.”
With the score tied at 48, Hope got another one of those clutch plays from junior guard Terin Maynard (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Jenison). Maynard drove into the lane and hit a 10-foot floater with 3.1 seconds left in regulation, giving the Flying Dutch a 50-48 lead.
Calvin called timeout to move the ball into the front court. Senior RyAnn Rohrer's jumper from left of the lane hit the front of the rim, but got the roll as the buzzer sounded, tying the game at 50-all and forcing overtime.
Hope did not make a field goal for almost the entire overtime, but was able to build a 55-52 lead on two free throws each by Vis and Anna Richards, and one by Maynard. However, Calvin tied the score at 55-all on Katelyn LaRue's 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left. Hope called time out to set up the game-winning play for Petroelje.
Petroelje finished with 13 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter and overtime.
"In the first half, we weren't very good, and (Calvin was) really good … they made us bad," Morehouse said. "The second half, we decided as a coaching staff to just turn our players loose and not run any of our set offenses, and just play some open gym and trust our talent. They did a great job, with us trusting their talent. We tried to put them into some good spots, but great players show up and clutch players are clutch."
Hope won the game despite shooting a season-low 25 percent from the field (16 of 64). Calvin made three more field goals than the Flying Dutch, but Hope cashed in on 22 of 30 (73 percent) from the free-throw line compared to 10 of 19 for the Knights.
Hope also forced 24 Calvin turnovers, 10 of them in the third quarter when the Flying Dutch started their comeback. The Flying Dutch outrebounded the Knights 48-44, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.
Anna Richards led Hope with 14 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the line, and added seven rebounds and three steals.
Vis had 11 points and eight rebounds. Maynard scored nine points and added four steals. Sophomore center Leah Richards pulled down 13 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive glass, to go along with eight points and three steals.
Rohrer led Calvin with 16 points while sophomore Jamie Custer hit five 3-pointers in scoring a career-high 15 points.
Hope cut Calvin's lead in the all-time series to 72-70. However, the Flying Dutch have gone 53-16 against the Knights since Jan. 1, 2001.
Zeeland Record
With the score tied in the waning seconds of overtime Saturday afternoon, the Hope College women's basketball team put the ball in the hands of sophomore forward Maddie Petroelje.
Petroelje caught the inbounds pass at the top of the key, then drove left of the lane against Calvin University guard Anna Fernandez and banked in the game-winning shot from eight feet away with 0.5 seconds remaining, lifting the nationally-ranked Flying Dutch to a heart-stopping 57-55 win over the Knights at Van Noord Arena in the 142nd women's basketball meeting in The Rivalry.
"[Associate head coach Courtney] Kust does a great job of getting us into end-of-game situations. That play is something we repped multiple times in practice. We ran it perfectly," Petroelje said after the game.
Head coach Brian Morehouse spoke of Petroelje and others on the Hope team having that "clutch gene" that enables them to step up with the game on the line.
"We could have drawn that play up for a lot of people," Morehouse said. "It takes a lot of courage to take that shot because if you miss, you feel like you lost the game for your team. So, you have to have enough confidence that you've done that before, that you've made that play before, that you can do it, and you're willing to fail so that you can succeed. I think Maddie has that, as do all of our players. But Maddie got the chance today."
The victory was Morehouse's 400th against MIAA opponents.
Hope, ranked seventh in the country by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll and ninth by D3hoops, stayed within one-half game of first-place Trine University in the MIAA race with the come-from-behind win. The Flying Dutch are now 9-1 in the MIAA and 16-2 overall. Calvin slipped to 4-5 in the MIAA and 9-9 overall.
The Orange and Blue had to overcome a nightmarish first half to pull out its 22nd win in the last 23 meetings with Calvin and its 10th in a row at Van Noord Arena.
Hope went scoreless for more than five minutes to start the game, trailing 8-0 early on. Hope made only one field goal the entire first half – a basket by senior forward Sydney Vis early in the second quarter – and turned the ball over 12 times. Calvin led 25-11 at halftime.
The Flying Dutch amped up their defensive intensity in the second half, and in turn, it fueled the offense. Hope opened the half with a 9-2 run, capped off by a driving layup by sophomore guard Anna Richards, to cut the Calvin lead to 27-20.
Calvin bumped the lead back up to 12, but Hope closed out the third quarter with seven straight points, cutting the Knights' lead to 34-29 heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
The Hope rally continued in the fourth quarter, with Petroelje playing a central role in the comeback. She went on a personal 8-0 run in a span of 74 seconds, finishing it off with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Hope its first lead at 41-38 with 5:25 to play in regulation. It was the first of five lead changes down the stretch.
"I was kind of out of it in the first half, so I knew I had to step up if we were going to come back," Petroelje said. "My teammates were playing great. We were on a huge run, they found me in a spot and I was able to knock down the shots.”
With the score tied at 48, Hope got another one of those clutch plays from junior guard Terin Maynard (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Jenison). Maynard drove into the lane and hit a 10-foot floater with 3.1 seconds left in regulation, giving the Flying Dutch a 50-48 lead.
Calvin called timeout to move the ball into the front court. Senior RyAnn Rohrer's jumper from left of the lane hit the front of the rim, but got the roll as the buzzer sounded, tying the game at 50-all and forcing overtime.
Hope did not make a field goal for almost the entire overtime, but was able to build a 55-52 lead on two free throws each by Vis and Anna Richards, and one by Maynard. However, Calvin tied the score at 55-all on Katelyn LaRue's 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left. Hope called time out to set up the game-winning play for Petroelje.
Petroelje finished with 13 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter and overtime.
"In the first half, we weren't very good, and (Calvin was) really good … they made us bad," Morehouse said. "The second half, we decided as a coaching staff to just turn our players loose and not run any of our set offenses, and just play some open gym and trust our talent. They did a great job, with us trusting their talent. We tried to put them into some good spots, but great players show up and clutch players are clutch."
Hope won the game despite shooting a season-low 25 percent from the field (16 of 64). Calvin made three more field goals than the Flying Dutch, but Hope cashed in on 22 of 30 (73 percent) from the free-throw line compared to 10 of 19 for the Knights.
Hope also forced 24 Calvin turnovers, 10 of them in the third quarter when the Flying Dutch started their comeback. The Flying Dutch outrebounded the Knights 48-44, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.
Anna Richards led Hope with 14 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the line, and added seven rebounds and three steals.
Vis had 11 points and eight rebounds. Maynard scored nine points and added four steals. Sophomore center Leah Richards pulled down 13 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive glass, to go along with eight points and three steals.
Rohrer led Calvin with 16 points while sophomore Jamie Custer hit five 3-pointers in scoring a career-high 15 points.
Hope cut Calvin's lead in the all-time series to 72-70. However, the Flying Dutch have gone 53-16 against the Knights since Jan. 1, 2001.
West Wins Competitive Cheer Meet at East
Zeeland West took first place at the O-K Black/White Conference competitive cheer meet Jan. 21 at Zeeland East.
The Dux finished with a team score of 746.04 points, capped off by a final-round score of 305.10. Forest Hills Northern finished second in the seven-team field with 720.00 points, followed by the host Chix in third with 681.82.
The Dux finished with a team score of 746.04 points, capped off by a final-round score of 305.10. Forest Hills Northern finished second in the seven-team field with 720.00 points, followed by the host Chix in third with 681.82.
Tough Second Half Sinks West Against HC
The Zeeland West varsity girls basketball team played a strong first half against Holland Christian on Jan. 21 at the Heeringa Holland Civic Center Place, but the Maroons came back with a vengeance in the second half in going on to take a 49-23 victory.
It was the third straight loss for the Dux after they opened the season with seven straight wins. West fell to 3-2 in the O-K Black Conference.
West battled Holland Christian on even terms in the first half, trailing 7-5 after the first quarter. A pair of buckets by senior Alyssa Lucas gave the Dux a 14-12 lead with one minute remaining in the first half. Brooklyn Phelps tied the game on a layup for Holland Christian, but junior Sadie Kragt’s basket with 26 seconds left gave West a 16-14 halftime lead.
The second half was a much different story. The Maroons outscored the Dux 16-2 in the third quarter to take a 30-18 lead, then dominated the fourth quarter 19-5 as they solidified their hold on first place in the O-K Black. Holland Christian improved to 5-0 in the conference and 7-3 overall with the win.
Kragt led West with 10 points while junior Jenna Hendricks added five.
The Dux were scheduled to travel to West Ottawa Tuesday and South Haven Wednesday for nonleague games.
It was the third straight loss for the Dux after they opened the season with seven straight wins. West fell to 3-2 in the O-K Black Conference.
West battled Holland Christian on even terms in the first half, trailing 7-5 after the first quarter. A pair of buckets by senior Alyssa Lucas gave the Dux a 14-12 lead with one minute remaining in the first half. Brooklyn Phelps tied the game on a layup for Holland Christian, but junior Sadie Kragt’s basket with 26 seconds left gave West a 16-14 halftime lead.
The second half was a much different story. The Maroons outscored the Dux 16-2 in the third quarter to take a 30-18 lead, then dominated the fourth quarter 19-5 as they solidified their hold on first place in the O-K Black. Holland Christian improved to 5-0 in the conference and 7-3 overall with the win.
Kragt led West with 10 points while junior Jenna Hendricks added five.
The Dux were scheduled to travel to West Ottawa Tuesday and South Haven Wednesday for nonleague games.
Winter Weather Leads to Postponements
Last week’s winter weather led to multiple cancellations of local high school sporting events, resulting in those contests having to be rescheduled.
Zeeland East’s varsity basketball doubleheader at Unity Christian will be played tonight, with the girls starting at 5:30 p.m. and the boys to follow 20 minutes after the girls game ends. The East boys also had games postponed against Hamilton last Friday and South Haven last Saturday. The Hamilton game has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11 while the South Haven game has not yet been rescheduled, East Athletic Director Josh Glerum said.
Meanwhile, the varsity basketball doubleheader between Zeeland West and Unity Christian on the Crusaders’ home court was postponed last Friday. Those contests will be made up Thursday, Feb. 12, West Athletic Director Jordan Bandstra said.
Zeeland East’s varsity basketball doubleheader at Unity Christian will be played tonight, with the girls starting at 5:30 p.m. and the boys to follow 20 minutes after the girls game ends. The East boys also had games postponed against Hamilton last Friday and South Haven last Saturday. The Hamilton game has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11 while the South Haven game has not yet been rescheduled, East Athletic Director Josh Glerum said.
Meanwhile, the varsity basketball doubleheader between Zeeland West and Unity Christian on the Crusaders’ home court was postponed last Friday. Those contests will be made up Thursday, Feb. 12, West Athletic Director Jordan Bandstra said.
Calvin, Hope, Olivet Locked in Three-Way Tie for MIAA Lead
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
This season’s Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball race has been highly competitive, as three teams entered the week in a first-place tie with 5-1 conference records.
Defending MIAA champion Calvin University moved into a first-place tie last Saturday night with an 80-65 victory over Hope College in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,235 at DeVos Fieldhouse, while the University of Olivet continued its strong start to conference play with 89-77 win over Trine University on its home court at the Cutler Event Center.
Calvin, Hope and Olivet entered the week with 5-1 conference records, with Trine just one game back at 4-2. The Knights were to host the Comets Wednesday night in Grand Rapids, while the Flying Dutchmen were home to Albion College.
In the Hope-Calvin game, the Flying Dutchmen went on a 16-4 run in the first half to take a 30-18 lead with a little more than six minutes left in the half. But the Knights, who entered the game ranked 15th in NCAA Division III by d3hoops.com, stormed back to cut the lead to 36-34 at halftime.
Holland Christian graduate Jalen Overway opened the second half with a 3-point basket for Calvin, and the Knights never trailed again. An 8-0 run midway through the half gave Calvin a 61-49 lead, and the Knights stayed in control the rest of the way.
Overway led a balanced Calvin attack that placed five players in double figures with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Sophomore forward JT McIllwain, a Hamilton High School grad, added 13 points and six rebounds. Luka Ressler had 13 points and nine boards while Trevin Winkle had 13 points and five assists.
Senior guard Marcus Wourman led the Flying Dutchmen with 16 points, while freshman Brendan Cargill added 13. Calvin held Hope junior Parker Hovey, who came into the game averaging 19.1 points per game, to just two points in 29 minutes, snapping a streak of 15 consecutive games in which he scored in double figures.
Meanwhile, at Olivet, the Comets sizzled from 3-point range, hitting 13-of-28 from beyond the arc in their victory over Trine. Sophomore guard Sam Howard was the hottest shooter of all, nailing 7-of-9 3-pointers in scoring a career-high 25 points.
Conner Schipper, the Comets’ 6-foot-10 junior center from Zeeland East High School, returned to the court after missing three games with an injury in a big way, scoring 18 points and blocking three shots in 30 minutes of action. Schipper is averaging 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds a game this season for Olivet, and currently ranks 10th among all NCAA Division III players in blocked shots, averaging 2.7 rejections per contest.
Freshman forward Sean Shenker added 19 points for Olivet. Nate Tucker led the Thunder with 20 points.
Zeeland Record
This season’s Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball race has been highly competitive, as three teams entered the week in a first-place tie with 5-1 conference records.
Defending MIAA champion Calvin University moved into a first-place tie last Saturday night with an 80-65 victory over Hope College in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,235 at DeVos Fieldhouse, while the University of Olivet continued its strong start to conference play with 89-77 win over Trine University on its home court at the Cutler Event Center.
Calvin, Hope and Olivet entered the week with 5-1 conference records, with Trine just one game back at 4-2. The Knights were to host the Comets Wednesday night in Grand Rapids, while the Flying Dutchmen were home to Albion College.
In the Hope-Calvin game, the Flying Dutchmen went on a 16-4 run in the first half to take a 30-18 lead with a little more than six minutes left in the half. But the Knights, who entered the game ranked 15th in NCAA Division III by d3hoops.com, stormed back to cut the lead to 36-34 at halftime.
Holland Christian graduate Jalen Overway opened the second half with a 3-point basket for Calvin, and the Knights never trailed again. An 8-0 run midway through the half gave Calvin a 61-49 lead, and the Knights stayed in control the rest of the way.
Overway led a balanced Calvin attack that placed five players in double figures with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Sophomore forward JT McIllwain, a Hamilton High School grad, added 13 points and six rebounds. Luka Ressler had 13 points and nine boards while Trevin Winkle had 13 points and five assists.
Senior guard Marcus Wourman led the Flying Dutchmen with 16 points, while freshman Brendan Cargill added 13. Calvin held Hope junior Parker Hovey, who came into the game averaging 19.1 points per game, to just two points in 29 minutes, snapping a streak of 15 consecutive games in which he scored in double figures.
Meanwhile, at Olivet, the Comets sizzled from 3-point range, hitting 13-of-28 from beyond the arc in their victory over Trine. Sophomore guard Sam Howard was the hottest shooter of all, nailing 7-of-9 3-pointers in scoring a career-high 25 points.
Conner Schipper, the Comets’ 6-foot-10 junior center from Zeeland East High School, returned to the court after missing three games with an injury in a big way, scoring 18 points and blocking three shots in 30 minutes of action. Schipper is averaging 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds a game this season for Olivet, and currently ranks 10th among all NCAA Division III players in blocked shots, averaging 2.7 rejections per contest.
Freshman forward Sean Shenker added 19 points for Olivet. Nate Tucker led the Thunder with 20 points.
Maroons Outshoot Dux in Boys Basketball
The Zeeland West varsity boys basketball team remained winless in conference play with a 64-53 loss to Holland Christian Jan. 21 at home.
The Dux (0-5 O-K Black, 5-8 overall) opened the scoring on a basket by senior Gabe Bouwens, but that would be the only time West would lead in the game. Holland Christian scored the next seven points and would never trail again. The Maroons led 19-10 after one quarter.
The Dux went on a 10-2 run in the second quarter, capped by a 3-point basket by sophomore Maverick Jipping, to whittle the HC lead to 26-23 with 1:40 left in the half. But the Maroons scored the final six points of the half to stretch the lead to 32-23.
Holland Christian put the game away with 24 points in the third quarter to open up a 56-40 lead and were able to coast home for the win.
Jipping led the Dux with 13 points off the bench, while junior Drew Albrecht added 10 and Bouwens nine. Titus Spencer, Holland Christian’s outstanding senior point guard, led the Maroons with 19 points.
West was to travel to East Grand Rapids for a nonconference game Tuesday night.
The Dux (0-5 O-K Black, 5-8 overall) opened the scoring on a basket by senior Gabe Bouwens, but that would be the only time West would lead in the game. Holland Christian scored the next seven points and would never trail again. The Maroons led 19-10 after one quarter.
The Dux went on a 10-2 run in the second quarter, capped by a 3-point basket by sophomore Maverick Jipping, to whittle the HC lead to 26-23 with 1:40 left in the half. But the Maroons scored the final six points of the half to stretch the lead to 32-23.
Holland Christian put the game away with 24 points in the third quarter to open up a 56-40 lead and were able to coast home for the win.
Jipping led the Dux with 13 points off the bench, while junior Drew Albrecht added 10 and Bouwens nine. Titus Spencer, Holland Christian’s outstanding senior point guard, led the Maroons with 19 points.
West was to travel to East Grand Rapids for a nonconference game Tuesday night.
