Hope Flying Dutch guard Lauren Newman (photo courtesy Hope College athletics)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Senior guard Lauren Newman saved her only two points, and her best two points, for the very end of a nail-biting, heart-pounding, nerve-racking matchup between the No. 1-ranked Hope College women’s basketball team and the No. 3-ranked Trine University Thunder on Wednesday night.
With just 35 seconds left to go in the game and with Hope leading by just one, 58-57, Newman of Flushing (Flushing HS), pictured right, pulled off one of her signature moves, working it to perfection. As Trine’s Kaylee Argyle tried to dribble the ball up the floor to attempt to take the lead, Newman’s speedy hands reached in for a clean swipe, causing a turnover, creating a steal, and then completing an uncontested layup.
That quick turn of events gave the Flying Dutch the cushion they needed to ride out the rest of the game toward a 63-59 win over the Thunder in Angola, Indiana.
With the victory, Hope retains its undefeated record, now at 11-0 (5-0 in the MIAA) and its two-season-long win streak, now at 40 in a row.
This marks the 11th time in NCAA Division III history a program has won 40 or more games consecutively. The Flying Dutch teams from Dec. 3, 2005 to Jan. 13, 2007 are 8th on the all-time consecutive victory list with 44. (Washington University in St. Louis holds the record with 83 straight wins over three years from Feb. 1998 to Jan. 2001.)
Trine’s only two losses this season have been to the Flying Dutch. The Thunder drop to 11-2 overall and 5-1 in the MIAA.
“That game was everything it was advertised to be,” said head coach Brian Morehouse.
To wit: it had all the suspense and stress any die-hard Hope and Trine fan could take by way of clamp-down defense, anxious offense, and enough momentum shifts to inflate, and then deflate, expectations.
Though Hope’s trademark this season has been to jump out to quick, large scoring margins in the first quarter, no such thing happened against Trine. The Flying Dutch shot just 16.7% in the first 10 minutes but still led the Thunder, 10-9
In the second quarter, Hope built their lead up to as many as eight points on two occasions, once on a Courteney Barnes layup at the 6:32 mark and again on a 3-pointer by Kate Majerus at the 2:20 mark.
Still, the Thunder continued to hack away on the gap and closed in on the Flying Dutch who led 24-20 at half.
“We were sped up by their defense. Giving (Trine) credit on that. But then we were also just nerved up. And part of that is No. 1 playing No. 3,” said head coach Brian Morehouse. “Our kids know who we are playing, and they know what people are saying about this game. They’re human.
“But then we calmed down, and we played like a veteran No. 1-ranked team in the nation in the fourth quarter, especially down the stretch. We didn’t panic when we got down.”
Going into the fourth quarter, Hope was indeed down to Trine, 42-40, after the Thunder outscored the Flying Dutch, 22-16, in the third quarter. Even though Hope held its largest lead of the game in that period – 10 points — Trine used a 13-5 run late in the third to chase down the Flying Dutch.
But late-run toughness by veteran leadership carried the day, as did one up-and-comer who made a big difference, too. Yes, senior Newman helped seal the game with that late steal and basket; and senior Sydney Muller of Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids Christian HS) scored a team- and game-high 17 points along with three assists; and senior Kenedy Schoonveld of Zeeland (Holland Christian HS) directed the floor and tallied 10 points; and senior Olivia Voskuil of Holland (Holland Christian HS) grabbed six steals and eight rebounds.
But sophomore guard Ella McKinney of Haslett (Haslett HS), pictured right, scored seven of her 12 points during the game’s last 10 minutes, calmly making big plays when she found, and created, the opportunities to do so.
“Ella’s blood pressure just does not get up in games,” Morehouse said. “And I played her way too long down the stretch, too. I think I played her the last eight minutes of that game, and I never play someone that long. And you could see she was tired. But I just thought she deserved the chance to finish because she had played so well.
“Also (Olivia) Voskuil was fantastic on the defensive end. People will focus on field goals attempted and field goals made. But I will tell you that we don’t win that game without Vosk.”
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