News Release

ALBION, Mich. — The Albion College women’s basketball team gained a key victory in the race for homecourt advantage in the first round of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament when it upset fourth-ranked Hope College, 82-75, in front of a spirited crowd inside Kresge Gymnasium.

Albion (10-7 overall, 5-4 MIAA) is still tied with Olivet College and Saint Mary’s College for third place in the league. Albion will have to recover quickly as it travels to Olivet Wednesday night.

Megan Garvey provided the bulk of the scoring with a career-high 22 points, while Autumn Charnley pocketed her first career double-double with 14 points and a MIAA single-game record 15 assists. The assists record has stood for almost 24 years as Calvin’s Amy Bierling dished out 13 against Kalamazoo on Feb. 16, 1983. Adrian’s Colleen Maher also dished out 13 assists against Hope on Feb. 14, 1981.

Jessica Babcock and Stephani Croad also scored in double figures for the Britons, finishing with 15 and 10, respectively.

Albion took advantage of Hope’s 32 percent shooting in the first half to build a 41-26 lead at halftime. With Hope missing shots, Albion asserted the tempo by pushing the ball up the court.

Hope was able to force Albion into a half-court game in the second half, and the Flying Dutch used their size advantage to limit the Britons’ passing lanes. Philana Greene, who had a team-high four steals for Hope, used her wingspan to make passing difficult for Albion.

Hope used a 15-5 run to whittle Albion’s 45-34 lead with 17 minutes remaining down to 50-49 on Jordyn Boles’ 3-point goal with 11 ½ minutes remaining.

Garvey produced the answer for Albion as she sank a shot from behind the arc. Babcock and Stephanie Klumpp followed with jumpers as Albion built the margin to seven, 57-50, with 9:13 left in the game. Albion’s lead reached double-digits when Croad scored a 3-point goal and followed with a steal and transition jumper.

Sarah Jurik led Hope (15-2 overall, 7-2 MIAA) with 13 points. Julie Henderson and Lindsay Lange added 12 and 10, respectively, for the Flying Dutch.

HOPE COLLEGE (15-2; 7-2 MIAA)
Sarah Jurik 3-7 6-11 13; Julie Henderson 3-9 5-5 12; Lindsay Lange 5-7 0-0
10; Jordyn Boles 2-16 3-4 9; Philana Greene 3-7 2-2 8; Ellen Wood 2-4 3-4 7;
Emily O'Hare 3-3 0-0 6; Stacy Warsen 2-8 1-2 5; Jenny Cowen 1-6 0-0 3;
Kaitlyn Kopke 1-1 0-3 2; Courtney Knox 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-70 20-31 75.
ALBION COLLEGE (10-7; 5-4 MIAA)
Megan Garvey 8-13 4-4 22; Jessica Babcock 4-7 4-4 15; Autumn Charnley 4-8
5-8 14; Stephani Croad 4-6 1-2 10; Katie Elder 3-5 2-2 8; Kati Till 1-3 3-6
5; Emi Guimond 2-2 0-0 4; Stephanie Klumpp 2-3 0-0 4; Meghan VanMaele 0-0
0-1 0; Amy Aemisegger 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-49 19-27 82.
Hope College..................   26   49  -   75
Albion College................   41   41  -   82
3-point goals-Hope College 5-22 (Jordyn Boles 2-10; Julie Henderson 1-3;
Jenny Cowen 1-5; Sarah Jurik 1-4), Albion College 7-14 (Jessica Babcock 3-5;
Megan Garvey 2-4; Stephani Croad 1-1; Autumn Charnley 1-2; Stephanie Klumpp
0-1; Amy Aemisegger 0-1). Fouled out--Hope College-Emily O'Hare, Albion
College-None. Rebounds-Hope College 31 (Ellen Wood 6), Albion College 48
(Jessica Babcock 9). Assists-Hope College 18 (Philana Greene 4; Jordyn Boles
4; Julie Henderson 4), Albion College 19 (Autumn Charnley 15). Total
fouls-Hope College 21, Albion College 19. A-253