Hope opens MIAA play, earns 12th straight win over Calvin in The Rivalry

HOLLAND — Nothing could go wrong for Hope's women's basketball team Wednesday night.

From the moment the ball was tipped, the top-ranked Flying Dutch asserted its dominance over Calvin University. the 40-minute bloodbath mercifully came to an end for the Knights, with the scoreboard reading 91-42. That number marks the most points Hope has ever scored against their rival.

Kate Majerus set the tone on the first trip down the court, drilling a 3-pointer. She did it again on the next trip on the offensive side of the floor and then one possession later, Olivia Voskuil got in on the fun. Before Calvin could even flinch the Knights were down 9-0.

"It's always great when we're able to start a game in a groove and have the start we want and be in motion," Majerus said. "It helps our confidence and gives us the rhythm we're looking for."

That flurry of scoring helped Hope get out to a 28-13 lead by the end of the first frame, which they extended to 54-24 when the halftime buzzer sounded. Coach Brian Morehouse couldn't have asked for a more efficient first two quarters from his team, either.

By the break, Hope was shooting 60% from the field and 61% from beyond the arc. Two players, Majerus and Voskuil, were in double figures and nine of the 10 players who had touched the court had scored points. The one moment that was emblematic of the first-half performance was when junior Meg Morehouse chucked up a three off one foot with time expiring. The ball hit the backboard as the buzzer sounded and fell in through the net.

The basketball gods were on their side all night.

"I kind of had a feeling just the way the first half went, that it was going to go in," Brian Morehouse said. "Nothing else had missed in the whole first half, why should that be any different?"

No matter what Calvin tried to do to stop them, it just wasn't working. Knights coach Mark Christner knew it was going to be a tough challenge heading into this game, but he wasn't expecting it to come down on them all so fast.

Anytime they made even the slightest mistake, Hope made them pay for it. It was death by a thousand cuts for the Knights.

"This evening, I'm not sure that there was anybody in the country who was going to beat them," Christner said. "We did some things ok, but everything you don't do, they penalize you for in this game."

It wasn't just an offensive clinic for Morehouse's roster, though. Their defense limited a Calvin offense that averages 71.3 points to just over half their normal output. That stifling defense was just as important as the high-powered offense. Hope's bench finished the night with 49 points, but the Knights were held to just nine from their non-starters. That gap helped the Flying Dutch extend their lead time and time again.

Calvin senior Gabby Timmer led the MIAA in points per game at 21.2 and rebounds with 11. But the Flying Dutch held her to just nine points and six rebounds. Voskuil contained the 6-foot-3 senior in the post, but got a ton of help from the rest of her team, making Timmer uncomfortable the entire night.

"She's an incredible player, she has a ton of basketball skills, " Voskuil said. "Savannah [Feenstra] did a great job on her boxing out...our players did a really nice job on her."

While she's quick to credit her teammates, Voskuil had a career night herself. She scored a career-high 19 points and had 13 boards, just two off another career-high. She also added four blocks and four steals.

"That was an unbelievable basketball game for her," Brian Morehouse said. "[assistant coach] Colly [Carlson] kept saying she was a doggone superwoman out there tonight, it was an unbelievable performance."

Morehouse was impressed with how aggressive she played all night but was also thrilled with the way the team knew to get her the ball. Kenedy Schoonveld, a reigning All-American, and Sydney Muller, an MIAA First-Team selection last season, kept feeding her.

Whenever they had the chance to get the senior post-player the ball, they did it. Not only did that serve Hope well tonight, but their coach knows having that instinct will serve them well the rest of the season.

"They are not the kind of players who play for stats, Kenedy and Sydney play to win," Brian Morehouse said. "Not a selfish play that either one of them made all night long...when you have a team that's unselfish, you're in a great spot as a coach."

The win marked the 51st in a row for Hope and their 12th straight win over the Knights in The Rivalry. It's the longest streak the Flying Dutch have ever held over Calvin.

But perhaps even more importantly, the win marked a resounding start to MIAA play for Hope. They'll be chasing their third straight MIAA title and they're hoping this commanding win has set the tone for the rest of the way.

"That was the goal of the game, just set the tone for the MIAA," Majerus said. "Just to show who we are and what we can do this year and get ready for the rest of the season."

—Contact Assistant Sports Editor Will Kennedy at Will.Kennedy@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByWillKennedy and Facebook @Holland Sentinel Sports.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope College women's basketball opens MIAA play, earns 12th straight win in The Rivalry vs Calvin