Women’s basketball team loses to Calvin, 76-57, in first round of 2010 MIAA Tournament

The Olivet College women's basketball team fell to Calvin College, 76-57, tonight in the first round of the 2010 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament at the Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids.

In the first half, the Knights went up by as many as 23 points, 43-20. They then settled for a 43-22 lead at halftime. Olivet would get as close as 19 points twice in the second half.

Junior Kaitlin Oleksyn (Kalamazoo/Parchment) led the Comets with 13 points. Off the bench, sophomore Sam Keiffer (Brighton) scored a season-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. Playing in her final collegiate game, senior Gabrielle Federau (Okemos) had nine points. Sophomore Olivia Yarrell (Lansing/Sexton) grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds to go along with seven points.

All 14 Knights reached the scoring column and 13-of-14 grabbed at least one rebound, led by Carissa Verkaik's game-high 15 points and nine rebounds. Kelsey Irwin and Amber Benthem scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Verkaik also blocked four shots.

Olivet ends its season with a 7-19 overall record.