Scots silence Thunder but cannot overcome Olivet

JOEL RENDER

Staff Writer

The Alma College Women’s Basketball team had an emotional week last week triumphing convincingly over Tri-State University and then falling to the Olivet Comets. Coach Charlie Goffnet said, “We had a nice effort against Tri-State, one of our best efforts this season in fact.” Coach Goffnet was certainly correct about that as the Lady Scots beat up on Tri-State throughout the game and won by a margin of 72-50.

The Lady Scots jumped out to an impressive first half spring and led by 16 points at the break. The second half was fairly evenly matched, but the deficit built up in the first half was too much for Tri-State to overcome.

Alma was led by Karen Hall (04) who tallied 26 points on 8 for 12 shooting from the floor and an impressive 9 for 9 from the free throw line. Hall also grabbed 12 rebounds and managed 4 assists and two steals. Michelle Dettling (05) was second in the game with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Katey Peacock (06) chipped in 11 points, 3 boards, and 5 assists as well. The 22 point victory by the Lady Scots was a formidable statement given that Alma had never played against Tri-State in an away game.

As awe-inspiring as the victory over Tri-State was, the 71-54 loss to Olivet was just as heartbreaking. Not only was Olivet in last place in the MIAA at the time, but there was a fairly large home crowd on hand as well. The game began fairly slowly for the Lady Scots as the Comets jumped out to an early 9-2 lead.

After a timeout, Alma stormed back to take the lead and would hold onto it until about two minutes before halftime. A series of quick baskets by the Comets allowed them to reacquire their lead and head into the locker room up 35-29.

Unfortunately, the second half would belong to the Comets just as the end of the first half had. In the first few minutes of the second half, a series of miscues and bad calls prevented the Lady Scots from scoring until nearly seven minutes in. Meanwhile, the Comets put on a three point show as they made five straight shots from beyond the arc to extend their lead.

The shooting gallery dejected the Lady Scots and perhaps prevented them from ever recovering. Coach Goffnet had said before the game, “Olivet was picked 3rd in the preseason coaches poll and they have big girls inside and three point shooters outside.”

Certainly, he was not counting on the last place team in the MIAA making 9 three pointers against them. Nevertheless, that does not make the loss any harder to swallow for the team. The only Alma player in double figures was Karen Hall who scored 19 points in the loss. Her six rebounds led the team as well.

With the loss to Olivet the Lady Scots remain in a battle for fourth place with Kalamazoo College. Alma is only one game behind them, but also has one game in hand as well. Coach Goffnet said, “We have a critical juncture coming up including some half to win games.”

Finishing in fourth place at the end of the regular season is extremely important because it means that your team gets to host at least one game in the MIAA tournament. Alma will get its first chance to bounce back from this tough loss when they travel to take on the league leading Hope Flying Dutch on Wednesday evening. From there, the Lady Scots will host St. Mary’s on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Cappaert Gymnasium.

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