Women’s basketball team loses to Hope, 56-44, in MIAA showdown

OLIVET, Mich. – In a battle for first-place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings, Hope College defeated Olivet College, 56-44, tonight at The Cutler Event Center. With the win, the Flying Dutch stay perfect in the MIAA with a 4-0 record and move one-half game ahead of Calvin College in the MIAA standings, while with the loss, the Comets slip one game behind with a 3-1 record.

Olivet got off to a fast start, taking an 8-2 lead after junior Kelsey Campbell (Olivet) made a three-pointer at the 16:29 mark. Hope went on an 8-2 run to tie the game at 10-10. After another tie at 12-12, the Comets seized a 15-14 lead when junior Rachael Wagner (Clinton Twp./Fraser) nailed a three-pointer with 8:50 left in the first half.

After Hope answered with its own three-pointer, senior Sydney Radde (Stevensville/Lakeshore) tied the game at 17-17 with a layup. The Flying Dutch went on a 10-4 run to stake their largest lead of the game, 27-21. Olivet got a free throw from junior Heather Lauwers (Ortonville/Brandon) to trail by five points, 27-22, at the intermission.

The Comets failed to score a point in the first six minutes, 10 seconds of the second half, which allowed Hope to grab a 15-point lead, 37-22. The Flying Dutch stretched their lead to as many as 19 points, 45-26, at the 10:36 mark. Olivet chipped away at their deficit and was able to trim their deficit down to 10 points, 50-40, after senior Mellissa Bageris (Milford) hit back-to-back three-pointers and DeShazor made a layup.

For the game, the Comets shot 42.9 percent (18-of-42) from the floor to 28.8 percent (17-of-59) for Hope. Both teams made four 3-pointers, while the Flying Dutch canned 18 free throws to four for Olivet. The difference in the game was Hope turned the ball over only 10 times, and forced 29 Comet miscues. Olivet did out-rebound the Flying Dutch, 39-31.

For Olivet, junior Chelsea Ciba (Olivet) led the way with eight points. Radde had seven points and game-high 12 rebounds. Campbell dished out seven assists.

Three Hope players reached double figures in the scoring column. Liz Ellis scored 15, while Courtney Kust and Rebekah Llorens finished with 12 and 11, respectively. Kust and Llorens shared team-high honors with five rebounds each.

The Comets (7-2) return to the court Saturday when they host Calvin. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.