Women’s basketball team suffers heartbreaking 79-77 overtime loss to Calvin

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 79-77 overtime loss to Calvin College today at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. The Knights are ranked No. 19 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll and tied for 17th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll.

The Comets led for the entire first quarter, leading by as many 11, 15-4, at the 4:24 mark. The Knights cut their deficit down to seven points, 19-12, at the end of the quarter. Olivet maintained its seven-point cushion, 25-18, with 6:51 left before halftime.

Calvin put 16 of the next 18 points on the scoreboard to take its largest lead of the game, 34-27, with 1:21 remaining in the second period. After scoring 10 points in the first period, junior Katie McKinnon made a free throw for her only point of the second stanza to make the score 34-28. A three-pointer by junior Leeza Donald in the closing seconds made the score 34-31 at halftime.

The Comets started the third period with a 15-2 run to go up 10 points, 46-36, with 4:24 left. Olivet led by six points, 52-46, to the start of the fourth quarter. The Comets took their largest lead of the game, 58-47, at the 8:06 mark of the final quarter.

The Knights used a 12-2 run to close to within one, 60-59, with 2:23 left in regulation. Olivet took a 63-59 lead on a three-pointer by senior Shauni Hankins. Two layups for Calvin tied the game with under a minute to play. Calvin missed a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

The teams traded scoring runs in the extra period. After the Knights grabbed a 67-63 lead, Olivet answered with four straight points to knot the score at 67-67. A three-point play by Calvin made the score 70-67 before senior Dallas Austin hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 70-70.

Kally Verkaik netted five straight points to give the Knights a 75-70 lead. Calvin could not put the game away at the free throw line, making only 2-of-6 attempts. Meanwhile, Olivet made a free throw and three baskets, including one by senior Bre Kidd to tie the game at 77-77 with five seconds left.

With no timeouts to call, Calvin quickly pushed the ball up the floor. With just six-tenths of a second left, Bre Luurtsema was fouled at midcourt. She made the two free throws for the game-winning points.

For the game, Olivet made four more baskets than the Knights, 33 to 29. Both teams knocked down five shots from behind the three-point arc. The difference in the game was Calvin drained 16 free throws compared to six for the Comets. The rest of the statistics were nearly equal, as Olivet had 43 rebounds, 17 assists, 25 turnovers, three blocks and 12 steals to 42 rebounds, 18 assists, 25 turnovers, three blocks and 12 steals for the Knights.

For the Comets, McKinnon scored a game- and career-high 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 free throws. She also grabbed a team-best nine rebounds. Kidd finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. Hankins joined them in double figures with 11 points.

All five Calvin starters scored in double figures, as they combined to score 73 of its 79 points. Verkaik led the way with 21 points. Anna Timmer recorded 19, while Luurtsema, Ali Spayde and Abby Springer had 11 points apiece. Luurtsema pulled down a game-best 16 rebounds.

Olivet (7-7, 3-2 MIAA) hosts Alma College next Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 6 p.m.