Hope's Ashleigh Thomas.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Free yet from the difficult news soon to come, the No. 1 Hope College women’s basketball team rose to the occasion during a matchup of top-ranked and unbeaten rivals at DeVos Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
The Flying Dutch took command in the first quarter to set the stage for a 61-52 victory against No. 5 Trine.
Shortly before tipoff, the NCAA announced that the 2021 Division III winter championships had been canceled due to low participation numbers among member schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Head coach Brian Morehouse informed his team of the decision after the game. Last March, the Flying Dutch’s national tournament run ended in the sectional round because of the pandemic.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Morehouse said. “I’ve been to Final Fours. We’ve won a national championship. I know what it takes. I wanted that for these kids, and I think that they were good enough to do it.
“We had people talk within our circle after the game to their teammates. It doesn’t renew my faith in athletics, women and men in college, it just only reinforces what I already know. These are incredible human beings here. They also happen to be amazing basketball players. They’re incredible human beings. The things that were said after the game would make any parent swell up with pride.”
On the court, Hope (5-0 overall) excelled from the opening tip en route to its 34th consecutive victory. The Flying Dutch jumped to a n 18-6 first-quarter lead.
Senior forward Ashleigh Thomas (Shelby Township, Michigan/Lutheran North) led the change by scoring nine of her 12 points for the game.
Sophomore guard Ella McKinney (Haslett, Michigan/Haslett) scored a career-high 15 points. She came off the bench to sink a 3-pointer in each quarter, including two over the final 10 minutes.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The toll of playing four games in six days became an exhausting price for the Hope College men’s basketball team to pay on Wednesday. The Flying Dutchmen fell decisively to Trine University Thunder, 91-52, in Angola, Indiana.
The loss drops Hope to 2-2. The win keeps No.6-ranked Trine undefeated, 8-0.
Though playing against a league opponent, the Flying Dutchmen will not have the loss count against them in the MIAA regular-season standings. A single round of seven games on the schedule beginning Tuesday, Feb. 9 will determine the MIAA champion.
Coming off two wins against Calvin University and Albion College in under 54 hours, Hope arrived at Trine with good momentum. But a tough Thunder defensive effort caused too many Flying Dutchmen turnovers and an insurmountable condition for Hope to overcome.
The Flying Dutchmen were led by sophomore Evan Thomas of Okemos (Okemos HS) with 12 points. Senior Preston Granger of Lansing (Lansing Christian HS) added nine.
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