Jan. 16, 2010

Final Stats

ADRIAN, Mich. - It is sometimes difficult to determine what one thing happens during the course of a game which decides the outcome. On Saturday, Adrian can look at the box score and see a 52-28 rebounding edge in favor of 12th-ranked Calvin, which sent the Bulldogs to a 66-52 defeat.

The first half was evenly played and Adrian limited Calvin to 27 percent shooting from the field. Adrian trailed 27-23 at intermission as there were seven lead changes and one tie in the first 20 minutes.

Ashley McClarren pulled Adrian within one on her first three-pointer of the season to begin the second half for the Bulldogs. Calvin then scored the next six points to build a 33-26 lead. The Knights extended their lead to 39-28 at the 14:41 mark on a Brook VanEck layup.

Adrian fought back and pulled within six at 47-41 after a Rachael Walker triple with 10:06 remaining in the contest. Calvin then basically put the game away with a 12-0 run over the next 4:29. Adrian missed four straight shots and turned it over four times as the Knights built a 59-41 lead with 5:35 to play.

Adrian did a good job of holding Carissa Verkaik to 9-of-22 shooting from the floor. Verkaik is the leading scorer in the MIAA as a freshman and did finish with 26 points of which seven came at the foul line. She also grabbed nine boards and blocked eight shots.

McClarren paced the Bulldogs with 16 points. She was 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 at the line in 27 minutes. She missed time in the second half due to foul trouble. Walker scored eight points off the bench with a pair of triples.

Adrian shot 36 percent for the game (18-of-50) and were an impressive 6-of-10 from downtown. Elysia Norris also had seven points and seven boards for the Bulldogs.