The Knights took off early scoring the first seven points of the game en route to a 17-4 run. But the Hornets were able to hang around and crawl back into the game cutting the lead to seven with just over four minutes left in the half. At halftime, the Knights held a 42-33 advantage and it would be the closest Kalamazoo would get to catching the Knights.
Calvin's bench made the difference in the first half outscoring Kalamazoo's bench 17-5. The Knights also shot over 70 percent from behind the arc thanks to the hot hand of sophomore Kristi Brummel (Byron Center/South Christian) who was a perfect four for four in three point range in the first half.
The second half was more of the same for the Knights; shoot the ball and score. The Knights shot a blistering 57.1 percent from the field while continuing to build on their halftime lead. The buzzer sounded as the Knights ran away with an 87-65 victory.
The victory was an important one as it gave Calvin a two-game lead over Hope in the MIAA standings. Hope (7-2 MIAA) was defeated 82-75 by Albion on Saturday.
Junior Rachael Willett (Rockford/Rockford) came off the bench to provide a career-high 19 points with sophomore Marcia Harris (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) and senior Lisa Winkle (Grand Rapids/South Christian) each pouring in 16. Winkle also cleaned up the boards collecting a game high 9 rebounds.
The Hornets were led by Kelsea Howell who scored a game high 22 points.
Calvin (15-1 overall, 9-0 MIAA) will next play home to Rochester College on Wednesday night for a 6:00p.m. non-conference game