Hope edges Calvin, wins share of title

HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) - There was so much on the line. Number two versus number three. Bragging rights for the rest of the year. Revenge for the Lady Dutch, who lost by five earlier in the year. And if there needed to be any more hype, a Calvin win would give the Knights the sole rights to the conference title. But a Hope win would split the league championship between the two rivals.

It's a split.

Backed by 20 points from senior guard Liz Ellis, the Hope women's basketball took it to the Calvin Knights in front of a home crowd. The 65-50 win evened the season series and helped Hope claim a share of the conference title.

Hope held Calvin to just 21 first half points and offensively put up the most points in the first 20 minutes against Calvin since 2001, 47. The Knights got the lead down to 12 in the second half, but the first half deficit was too much for the Knights to overcome. The Lady Dutch held Calvin to just 30 percent shooting from the field.

It was only the second loss of the season for the Lady Knights, who finish 22-2. But it was a more important win for Hope. Their only loss on the year came back on January 12th, a 64-59 loss to Calvin. The Dutch finish the season 24-1, with momentum into the MIAA Semifinals.

The split for the conference championship forced a post game coin toss to determine MIAA Semifinals number one seed. Calvin won the toss and as the tournaments number one seed will host Trine on Wednesday at 7:30 P.M, at Van Noord Arena.