Calvin’s unblemished record against Saint Mary’s came inches away from ending on Saturday however as the nationally-ranked Knights escaped with a 53-52 victory at the Angela Athletic Center.
A potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer by Saint Mary’s senior Allison Kessler bounced off the front of the rim, allowing the Knights to dodge an upset bullet.
Ranked 12th in the latest D3hoops.com Top-25 poll, Calvin (11-1 overall, 5-0 MIAA) is now tied with Hope for first place in the MIAA standings.
Calvin jumped out to a 27-19 halftime lead but the Knights were never able to get untracked from the perimeter, shooting just 2 of 8 from three-point range in the first half and just 3 of 14 overall from beyond the long line.
Behind 11 second half points from Kessler, Saint Mary’s (4-9 overall, 3-3 MIAA) began to claw its way back in and closed the gap to two points at 53-51 on a three-pointer by Kessler with 1:05 remaining.
Calvin missed a shot on the ensuing possession but got the ball right back on a steal by sophomore Marcia Harris. Calvin missed two free throws however with 13 seconds remaining and then fouled Kessler with 2.8 seconds left on the clock. Kessler hit the first free throw but after a Calvin timeout, missed the second with Calvin senior Lisa Winkle grabbing the rebound. Winkle was fouled with just under two seconds remaining but missed both free throws. Saint Mary’s grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 0.9 seconds remaining.
The Belles were then able to throw a long pass to Kessler who launched a desperation three that was on-line but just short.
Calvin was led in scoring by Harris who tallied her first collegiate double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. In three career games against Saint Mary’s, Harris has scored 63 points (21.0 ppg) and shot 21 of 32 (.656) from the floor.
Winkle also notched her 35th collegiate double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while junior Lindsey Peuler had 10 points.
In addition to Kessler, Saint Mary’s received 11 points and nine rebounds from Erin Newsom and 10 points from Bridget Lipke. Anna Kammrath also had nine points and 13 boards for the Belles.
Saint Mary’s held a 45-31 rebounding advantage on Calvin but shot just 27.8 percent from the floor.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday night when it hosts Tri-State at 7:30 p.m.