Women’s basketball rallies to beat Kalamazoo, 58-56

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Down nine points with five minutes left, the Olivet College women's basketball team rallied to beat Kalamazoo College, 58-56, today in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) contest at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. Sophomore Kelsey Campbell (Olivet) completed the comeback by making two free throws with 6.8 seconds left to break a 56-56 tie. In addition, the Comets have won four of their last five games, including three straight to move into fifth-place in the MIAA standings.

In the first half, the Hornets went up by seven points, 12-5, at the 13:45 mark. Olivet went on a 13-4 to take an 18-16 lead. The teams traded baskets until the Hornets went up by four at halftime, 30-26. The Comets scored the first points of the second half to the tie game at 30-30. After three more ties, including the last one at 37-37, Kalamazoo scored nine straight points to take a 46-37 lead.

After Olivet scored four points to trim its deficit down to five, 46-41, the Hornets had their own 4-0 run to go back up nine, 50-41. The teams exchanged baskets to make the score 54-45 with five minutes remaining. The Comets went on a 7-0 scoring spurt to cut Kalamazoo's lead down to two points, 54-52.

Holly Cooperrider made two foul shots to put the Hornets up four, 56-52, with 3:26 left. Junior SoQuitta DeShazor (Flint/Hamady) drained two free throws to make the score 56-54. Off a turnover, junior Brittany Brown (Inkster/John Glenn) tied the game at 56-56 when she made two free throws with 43.8 seconds left.

Kalamazoo had two chances to take the lead but missed both attempts. Campbell was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound. She made both foul shots. The Hornets' last second shot hit off the rim and Olivet grabbed the rebound as the buzzer sounded.

For the game, Olivet made 20 baskets, including three 3-pointers, and shot 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the charity stripe. Kalamazoo had 21 baskets, with five 3-pointers, and shot 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from the foul line. Each team had 17 turnovers and seven steals. The Comets out-rebounded the Hornets, 44-36.

DeShazor led Olivet with 13 points. Junior Sydney Radde (Stevensville/Lakeshore) was next with 10, while sophomore Rachael Wagner (Clinton Twp./Fraser) finished with nine. Campbell scored six points and dished out a game-high seven assists. Sophomore Heather Lauwers (Ortonville/Brandon) grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

For Kalamazoo, Nicole Antoine led all scorers with 14 points and also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Cooperrider scored 10 points.

Olivet will travel to play Adrian College next Wednesday, Feb. 1. Tip-off at the Merillat Center is 6 p.m.