The Calvin victory will also send the coveted “Golden Gavel” trophy back to Grand Rapids. The trophy is based on the cumulative head-to-head regular season record between the Calvin and Hope basketball teams. The trophy has remained in Holland over the last several years but will make its return to Grand Rapids as Calvin finished with a 3-1 cumulative regular season record in men’s and women’s basketball against Hope this year.
Each team struggled early on in the first half plagued by turnovers and missed shots. The slow start left Hope with a 4-1 lead four minutes into the half. The Knights went the first six and a half minutes without a field goal until sophomore Kristi Brummel (Byron Center/South Christian) sunk her first of three triples of the first half. But as Hope was able to do the entire game, it answered eventually tying the game at 13 apiece with eight minutes remaining.
Both Calvin and Hope shot poorly in the first half with Calvin shooting 36.8 percent from the field while Hope shot just 19.4 percent. Turnovers also were prevalent as the two teams combined for 27 through the first half. Nonetheless, Calvin was able to muster a 23-21 halftime lead.
Hope came out in the second half and tied the game up right away and later went on a 5-0 run to lead 28-24 which was Hope's largest lead in the game. This time, Calvin came up with the answer scoring five straight of its own. Junior Lindsey Peuler (Grandville/Gandville) connected on a big three pointer from the corner to give the Knights a 35-30 lead.
But Hope continued to counter-attack. Hope was able to tie the game at 35 until falling behind again 42-38 with over eight minutes to play. After Hope climbed back into a one point lead, junior Nikki Zimmerman (Traverse City/Traverse City West ) knocked down a pair of shots behind the arc to put Calvin up 51-49 with just over two minutes left. Hope tied the game at 51 and after a Calvin turnover, were in position to take the last shot. But Zimmerman came up with a steal and as the clock was winding down, left a fast break jumper just short. Calvin and Hope were heading into overtime.
In the bonus period, sophomore Marcia Harris (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) took over. She scored six of her game high 20 points in overtime and came up with a huge offensive rebound to force Hope into fouling. Leading 61-58, Brummell was fouled after a missed Hope three point attempt and sealed the victory by knocking down both free throws. The buzzer sounded and the Knights walked off the court MIAA Champions with the 63-58 win.
Brummel was the next high scorer for the Knights pouring in 12 while senior Lisa Winkle (Grand Rapids/South Christian) added 11 while grabbing nine rebounds. Hope was led by Ellen Wood who scored 16 and Stacy Warsen who tallied 11 points.
Calvin head coach John Ross couldn't have been happier with the play he received from Harris. "I've never seen Marcia like this before. She did a fabulous job hitting big shots and coming up with important rebounds."
Ross was also excited about winning another MIAA title. "This title means a lot. It's so hard to beat all the great programs like Hope in our conference so we're going to savor this. Our players have a lot of heart and we played very hard today. This gives us a lot of confidence toward heading into the rest of the season."
Calvin (21-1, 14-0 MIAA) will play its final home regular season game on Wednesday when Olivet pays a visit to the Fieldhouse for a game slated to begin at 7:30p.m.