Jan. 17, 2009

Final Stats

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The women's basketball team battled back from a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes forcing overtime before falling 72-66 at Calvin on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs played in the new Van Noord Arena for the first time and nearly spoiled home-court advantage for the Knights. Calvin led 31-26 at halftime and were deadly from long-range during the game going 9-of-13 good for 69.2 percent. The Knights also took advantage of 24 turnovers by Adrian outscoring the Bulldogs, 25-14, in points off turnovers.

Calvin went on a 16-3 run from the 17:31 mark to the 12:01 mark of the second half and seemed poised to run away with the game. The Bulldogs said not so fast as they kept their composure and cut a 14-point lead in half at 53-46 with 6:08 remaining. The Adrian defense did not allow a point over a three-minute period from the 5:24 mark to the 1:41 mark and in the process found an offensive rhythm. Junior Anita Stamps converted back-to-back layups to give AC a 56-55 lead with 2:20 left in regulation.

Sarah Partridge stepped up for Calvin down the stretch as her first big basket regained the lead at 57-56 with 1:41 to go. Junior Jennifer Perrin made a layup with 1:11 to play in regulation and freshman Jenn Headley added a bucket with 42 seconds to give AC a 60-57 advantage. Partridge drilled a triple with 30 seconds to tie the game at 60-60. Adrian had a chance to end the game with the last possession but a turnover with three seconds on the clock sent the game into the extra session.

Calvin scored the first six points to start overtime and Adrian never recovered from the hot start. Sophomore Megan Bouwens scored four points in overtime and Perrin added two but Adrian could not get the score to within a single possession in the five-minute stanza. Perrin tied her career-high with 18 points and was 8-of-13 from the floor with four assists in a career-high 43 minutes. Stamps added 13 points and also had six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Bouwens had 12 points and eight rebounds in 32 minutes. Junior Elysia Norris set a career-high with 10 rebounds and also had a career-high four assists. Adrian (11-4, 4-3 MIAA) is tied for third place with Albion in the conference standings.