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Women’s Basketball Team Claims 97-56 Victory at Alma
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
By Mark DeHaan
ALMA - Calvin traveled to Alma Wednesday night for its second conference match of the young season to face the Scots. Calvin, ranked third in the nation in the latest DIII polls, struggled in the opening minutes, but then a seven minute stretch midway through the first half saw the Knights build a sizable advantage and never look back. Calvin was able to use its depth throughout the game, earning a 97-56 win to move to 2-0 in conference.Carissa Verkaik led the Knights in victory one rebound short of a double-double with 25 points and nine rebounds. The performance marked the 91st double-digit scoring performance of her collegiate career. Irwin and sophomore Maria De Kuiper (Bradenton, FL/Bradenton Christian HS) each added 12 points, a career high for the sophomore, while Wolffis chipped in nine points and five rebounds. Kassidi Adams and Raeanna Zink each scored 13 points to lead the Scots. Calvin is now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA. The Knights now have an extended break before their conference home opener on Saturday, December 15 against the Belles of Saint Mary’s. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 3 p.m. in the afternoon.
D3hoops.com Feature on Calvin Women’s Basketball
Women’s Basketball Picks Up 77-42 Win at Albion in MIAA Opener
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
By Mark DeHaan
ALBION - The Calvin women’s basketball team opened the MIAA portion of its schedule Wednesday night, traveling to Albion College’s Kresge Gymnasium to face the Britons. The Knights got off to a hot start and did not look back, earning the 77-42 win as Calvin shot 47%, 10-for-25 from three point range. The Knights jumped out to an early 16-5 lead, led by sophomore Kayla Engelhard. Engelhard, who was named MIAA player of the week last week, picked up right where she left off, scoring 10 of Calvin’s first 16 points. Every Knight earned playing time while each player put points into the stat sheet. Engelhard led Calvin on offense with 17 points and four assists. Verkaik added 14 points and six rebounds, while seniors Kelsey Irwin and Heather DeKleine and freshman Abby VanderWoude all chipped in six.
Kayla Engelhard Named MIAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Week
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has named Calvin guard Kayla Engelhard its Player of the Week in women’s basketball for games played through Nov. 25.
Engelhard, a sophomore from Unionville (Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS), averaged 19 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in leading the Knights to three consecutive wins for the week. She scored a career-high 37 points and added seven rebounds as Calvin rallied from a 10-point deficit with less than two minutes remaining in regulation time for an 84-75 overtime win at Thomas More, Ky., and followed with 14 points and four assists the next night in a 76-48 victory over Centre, Ky. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the Thomas More tournament. Engelhard, who made 54 percent of her shots from the field (21 of 39) and 82 percent from the line (14 of 17) for the week, is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time in her career.
Women’s Basketball Tops Centre 76-48 at Julie Costello Memorial Classic
Saturday, November 24, 2012
By Mark DeHaan
A quick turnaround saw the Calvin women’s basketball team face Centre College Saturday afternoon less than a day after defeating host Thomas More in a thrilling overtime victory in the Julie Costello Memorial Classic. The Knights showed no signs of fatigue and dominated Centre, winning 76-48. Senior Carissa Verkaik led the charge with 20 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Sophomore Kayla Engelhard added 14 points, while Irwin scored nine, DeKleine eight, and Springer seven. Senior Ally Wolffis grabbed 12 rebounds for the Knights, five on the offensive glass. Both Verkaik and Engelhard were named to the All-Tournament team, with Engelhard earning MVP honors for her combined 51 points in a pair of games against Thomas More and Centre.
Women’s Basketball Pulls Out Epic Overtime Victory Over Thomas More at Julie Costello Classic
Saturday, November 24, 2012
By Mark DeHaan
Traveling to Crestview Hills, Kentucky to face Thomas More in the first round of the Julie Costello Memorial Classic, Calvin played against host and in-region foe Thomas More. The Knights came into the match at 2-1 overall and ranked No. 5 in the nation, while the Saints were twelfth nationally and 3-0 overall. Trailing by double digits with under three minutes left in regulation, Calvin mounted a furious comeback to pull out an 84-75 overtime win. Senior Kelsey Irwin hit a game-tying triple in the closing seconds and the Knights rolled in overtime. The Knights were led on offense by sophomore guard Kayla Engelhard, who scored a career high 37 points and grabbed seven rebounds, shattering her previous high of 21 points. Senior Carissa Verkaik collected a near triple-double with 16 points, 17 rebounds and eight blocks. The double-double was the 40th of Verkaik’s career. Irwin added 11 points off the bench.
Women’s Basketball Rolls To Win Over Manchester
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Calvin bounced back in the win column with a 77-45 victory over the visiting Manchester Spartans Tuesday night inside Van Noord Arena. A year ago Calvin edged Manchester 48-43 on the road but in Tuesday’s victory Calvin limited the Spartans (0-3) to 25.5 percent field goal shooting as the Knights held a 38-17 lead at halftime and never looked back. Calvin will travel to Thomas More College this weekend to compete at the Julie Costello Memorial Classic. Calvin will face 14th-ranked Thomas More on Saturday at 7 p.m. and will then meet Centre College on Saturday at 3 p.m. Both Thomas More and Centre advanced to the NCAA III Tournament a year ago.
Women’s Hoops Falls to Stevens Point - Carissa Verkaik Becomes Calvin’s All-Time Leading Scorer
Sunday, November 18, 2012
DECATUR, IL - In a rematch of last year’s NCAA III Tournament second round game, Wisconsin-Stevens Point handed Calvin an 84-63 defeat. Ranked seventh in the D3hoops.com Top 25 preseason poll, Stevens Point led 45-25 at halftime and continued to maintain a healthy lead throughout the second half. Senior Carissa Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) led Calvin with 14 points and in doing so, moved past Lisa Winkle to become Calvin’s all-time leading scorer. Verkaik now has 1,734 career points. Senior Logan Marsh (Byron Center/Byron Center HS) was the only other Calvin player to reach double-digits in scoring as she tallied 11 points including three triples. Calvin returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Manchester at 5:30 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.
Women’s Basketball Holds Off St. Thomas 78-72 in Meeting Of Nationally-Ranked Teams
Saturday, November 17, 2012
DECATUR, IL - In a rematch of last year’s NCAA III quarterfinal contest, Calvin recorded a 78-72 victory over St. Thomas in a first round game of the Millikin Coaches vs Cancer Tournament. Calvin entered the game ranked #1 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll while St. Thomas came in ranked third. Calvin jumped out to a 42-26 halftime lead and later built a 48-30 advantage only to see St. Thomas roar back to within a point inside the final five minutes. Calvin surged ahead down the stretch however to pull away for the win. Senior Carissa Verkaik had 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting. She is now just two points away from becoming Calvin’s all-time leading scorer. Sophomore Kayla Engelhard also pumped in a career-high 21 points while senior Ally Wolffis had 10 points and senior Kelsey Irwin nine points. Calvin will now prepare for a 5 p.m. (EST) contest against seventh-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point which will be a rematch of a second round NCAA III Tournament game from last year.
Calvin Takes Early Lead in MIAA Commissioner’s Cup Standings
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
A record-setting fall sports season has allowed Calvin to build an early lead in the MIAA Commissioner’s Cup Standings. Through the recently completed MIAA fall sports season, Calvin leads the standings with 100 points, four points better than Hope. In the MIAA Women’s All-Sports Standings, Calvin has a first place total of 58 points with Hope second with 53. Hope leads the MIAA Men’s All-Sports standings with 43 points, one point better than Calvin. This fall, Calvin captured a record six MIAA titles – winning conference crowns in men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s golf and volleyball.
Calvin’s Carissa Verkaik Named Preseason All-American by D3hoops.com
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
D3hoops.com Preseason All-America Women's Basketball Teams
Calvin senior Carissa Verkaik has been named to the preseason D3hoops.com All-America first team.A native of Holland and a graduate of Holland Christian High School, Verkaik averaged 19.2 points and 8.8 rebounds a game last year. Heading into her senior year, she is currently second on the Calvin career scoring list with 1,697 points, need just 25 points to become Calvin’s all-time leading scorer. Earlier this fall, she was named the preseason player of the year by Women’s Basketball Division III News.
