With the victory, the Albion women's basketball team (20-5 overall, 10-4 MIAA) reached the 20-win milestone for the first time.
"It was a great victory and a good day for seniors Erin Hearn, Angie Spain, and Jocelyn Zappala," Albion head coach Doreen Belkowski said. "The composure was great this time. We were up 10 and Hope came back, but we kept working and didn't give in. This victory should give us a real boost going into the MIAA Tournament next week."
Both teams struggled to find their shooting touch in the first half, as Hope made 7 of 25 shots from the field (28 percent) and Albion connected on 9 of 31 attempts from the field (29 percent). Albion scored six points in the final two minutes of the half to take a 30-25 lead to the locker room at the intermission.
Albion kept rolling early in the second half as sophomore guard Jaime Fornetti made a layup and Spain knocked down a three-point shot from the top of the key to extend the Briton lead to 35-25.
Before the Albion student section could make much noise, Hope came back behind two baskets by Linda Ebels and a three-point basket and a layup by Kelly Taylor. The Flying Dutch tied the score at 36 when Gracia Kamps scored with 14 minutes left in regulation.
Albion never fell behind, however, as junior guard Vanessa Thompson scored a layup, first-year post player Ruthie Sventickas made a pair of free throws, and Fornetti scored a layup to build the Briton lead back up to six, 42-36, with 12 minutes left.
Albion's lead would never shrink below four points the rest of the game.
Junior guard Sarah Caskey made 11 of 14 shots from the free throw line and led Albion in scoring with 13 points. Fornetti scored 12 points (on 5 of 9 shooting from the field) and grabbed eight rebounds. Spain finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Sventickas and Thompson contributed eight points apiece.
Albion finished with a 50-33 advantage in rebounds. Zappala led the Britons with nine boards.
Hope (22-3 overall, 12-2 MIAA) received 12 points from Taylor, and 11 points from Bria Ebels. Adelynn Vilmann grabbed 12 rebounds for the Flying Dutch.
Albion begins the MIAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seeded team Tuesday, Feb. 24 at Kresge Gymnasium for a 7:30 p.m. game.
HOPE COLLEGE (22-3, 12-2 MIAA) Kelly Taylor 3-10 5-9 12; Bria Ebels 4-14 2-2 11; Adelynn Vilmann 3-9 3-6 9; Linda Ebels 4-10 0-2 8; Gracia Kamps 2-2 2-2 6; Megan Noll 2-6 0-0 4; Ashley Plowman 1-2 0-0 2; Ellen Wood 0-1 0-0 0; Lauren Jensen 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 19-55 12-22 52. ALBION COLLEGE (20-5, 10-4 MIAA) Sarah Caskey 1-8 11-14 13; Jaime Fornetti 5-9 1-2 12; Angie Spain 4-7 2-4 11; Ruthie Sventickas 3-6 2-3 8; Vanessa Thompson 4-13 0-1 8; Liz Marcuz 1-3 2-2 4; Sarah Enfield 0-3 3-4 3; Jocelyn Zappala 0-7 2-2 2; Erin Hearn 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 18-57 24-34 62. Hope College.................. 25 27 - 52 Albion College................ 30 32 - 62 3-point goals-Hope College 2-13 (Kelly Taylor 1-3; Bria Ebels 1-8; Megan Noll 0-2), Albion College 2-16 (Jaime Fornetti 1-1; Angie Spain 1-2; Vanessa Thompson 0-3; Sarah Enfield 0-1; Jocelyn Zappala 0-3; Erin Hearn 0-1; Sarah Caskey 0-5). Fouled out--Hope College-Gracia Kamps, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Hope College 33 (Adelynn Vilmann 12), Albion College 50 (Jocelyn Zappala 9). Assists-Hope College 11 (Kelly Taylor 3; Adelynn Vilmann 3), Albion College 8 (Vanessa Thompson 2; Sarah Caskey 2). Total fouls-Hope College 25, Albion College 18. A-412